Nonstandard Operating Procedure
by silkyselkie
Summary: Takes place directly after the episodes in Season 1 involving Pike "Cage" and "Menagerie . Spock demands discipline for his actions against orders. Kirk sends a strange android woman to do the job. Spock/OC. Contains spanking, bdsm, and adult themes.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: So, this is the first fanfic I've posted online in years. . I have multiple chapters of this written out and plan a sequel, but I'm putting up this first chapter for now. If people absolutely hate this, I'll prolly remove it. If not, I'll keep updating. So, hope someone enjoys. Please R&R so I know what to do. This IS a story involving an OC who will continue to have character development, so if you hate OCs, hit the back button, quick! This is dedicated to all the people who read this fic and helped me come up with ideas, and the guts to post it here. :)

Edit: Oh, also, forgot to mention. The character Aiko also has nothing to do with the robotic "Project Aiko". They just happen to both have the same name. Aiko has been a character of mine in different states for years, and I just heard about Project Aiko and was weirded out at the coincidence. . 

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any characters/places/etc involved in Star Trek. (Aiko however, is my character.)

Chapter one:

Spock stared up at the ceiling of his quarters from his bed, thinking, his hands folded under his head. The captain had ordered him to take five days of rest, and not to report until the end of his "vacation". After the incident with Captain Pike, Spock had requested some sort of disciplinary action for his disobedience. Unsurprisingly, Captain Kirk had given him a curious look and declined, instead insisting that he take some time for himself, and on top of that, ordering company for him. It all seemed completely illogical to him. In one period of time alone, he had committed multiple acts of mutiny that by any other standard would have resulted in the death penalty. He had repeatedly gone against the orders of not only his current captain, but his past as well. And yet, here he was, awaiting pleasures with a woman, captain's orders.

He was not completely sure what to expect. He had no particular desire to mate, especially not by whim, but when he had tried to explain this to Kirk, the captain had laughed and cryptically told him to wait and see. What he wanted was for his captain to discipline him in some way, and then either allow him to continue with his work or to replace him with someone deemed more capable. It was what his actions warranted.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted with the noise of the doors to his quarters opening. He sat up quickly, and then stood, arms to his side, and glanced at the one responsible for it. The woman blinked; a sign of confusion in human beings, glanced down at a small card in her hand, and looked back at Spock.

"Mr. Spock, I presume?" she asked.

"Correct," he replied, before adding, "Is there a problem?" He noted the woman's apparent unease and wondered if it were due to his race.

"No, not at all," the woman answered, stepping out of the shadow of the doorway to reveal herself as a young woman, maybe as old as twenty human years. Straight, shiny black hair fell to her elbows, the blackness interrupted by streaks of bubblegum pink. "I just had never seen such a formal greeting from a client before, so I was unsure if I had the right person."

Now it was Spock's turn to blink. When the woman stepped forward, her joints gave way to slightly mechanical noises. Of course, this insight was due to Vulcan hearing, and was subtle, probably unnoticeable to the human ear. The woman, taking note of his intense stare, hesitated, her head cocking slightly to the side as she studied him as well. Her eyes scanned his body then met his, her irises seeming completely black and particularly large.

"Forgive my rudeness, I was a bit curious and forgot to introduce myself," the woman finally said, her eyes not breaking contact, "My name is Aiko, Mr. Spock. I am the comfort-bot that Captain Kirk requested for you for the next five days." She stood straight, mimicking his pose, which Spock noted was a human characteristic where one mimics the mannerisms of another in order to make them feel safer.

"A comfort-bot?" he asked, a pointed eyebrow raised slightly, "I am as curious of you as you are of me, it seems."  
"Quite all right, most clients have questions initially, but I can assure you that I am safe to you. I cannot harm you," she paused then added, "without your full consent and continuance of it, throughout the action. I am programmed to bring comfort and emotional support to those in need, in any way that they need. I do not usually mate with my clients though there are very rare exceptions to this rule, based their need. I comfort and help people to heal by any means necessary." She blinked again and smiled, looking convincingly real. Her skin even looked soft to the touch, though her hair had a shinier, synthetic look.

Spock nodded, one pointed eyebrow rising slightly. "Interesting," he replied, "May I ask what the Captain ordered you to do to me?"

Aiko stared at him for a moment, her large pupils scanning him once more, before letting out a slightly computerized chuckle. "Do to you, Mr. Spock? I was told to come to your aide as soon as possible and to do whatever brings you comfort. Captain Kirk's exact words were…" she cocked her head slightly and froze, her eyes lighting up. Kirk's voice, undoubtedly a stored sound clip, started up.

"He needs your help, Aiko." Kirk's voice sighed.  
"Well, what do you mean, Captain Kirk?" Aiko's voice questioned.

"I don't know…whatever it takes to straighten him out. He's been acting weird lately, and now he's demanding that I punish him in some way. You might have to rough him up a bit to get it out of him, though. Can you do that?" Kirk's replied with a dry chuckle.

"Certainly, Captain Kirk. I will do my best to help him with whatever he needs," Aiko's voice assured.  
"Thanks, Aiko," Kirk's voice concluded.

Aiko's left eye twitched once, and she unfroze, taking a straight stance with a gentle smile once more.  
"Does that satisfy your doubts, Mr. Spock?" Aiko asked.

"Well, it is a much superior set of circumstances than I previously imagined," he said simply, raising his eyebrows for a moment.

"I am glad," Aiko replied, "So what would you like? It is the Captain's direct orders that I "straighten you out", as slang-speaking humans say. Need I "rough you up"?"

Spock studied her for a moment. She certainly acted enough like a bot when he was watching, but subtle details about her seemed off. Her skin was too convincing. It even had pores. And she seemed a bit too curious to be a simple machine. But, he realized, whatever she was, it did not matter. The Captain had made an order, and though he found it illogical, he had to do his best to complete it.

Aiko scanned him once more, taking in his calm, though slightly bewildered expression and his cupids bow lips. She glanced at his pointed ears and eyebrows curiously then straightened subtly once more, deadening her gaze.  
"This is completely illogical," Spock finally said out loud, "I disobeyed numerous direct orders, and I requested that the Captain discipline me for my actions against him. Instead, he sent you."

Aiko blinked and cocked her head slightly, "Comfort comes in many forms, Mr. Spock. I can give you discipline, if that is truly what you desire. Captain Kirk requested me for a reason. Unlike many comfort-bots, giving pain does not go against my programming, as long as said pain also brings comfort."

Spock was quiet for a moment, his hand moving to his chin as he thought.

"It is really no different than Captain Kirk choosing a specific punishment for you, Mr. Spock. I was sent to give you what you needed, whatever that may be," Aiko added, "Captain Kirk is a perfect captain, and very professional, but most humans would feel uncomfortable causing pain to another, particularly one that they consider to be a dear friend. So I have been sent instead."

A particularly serious look spread across Spock's face and he nodded. "I suppose that is logical, given human behavior."  
"Is that what you would like, Mr. Spock? For me to punish you?" the bot asked, her synthetic eyelashes fluttering.  
"Yes," the half-Vulcan replied, continuing to stand straight.

The bot folded her arms fluidly and tilted her head downwards, seeming to think for a minute before warning, "My methods of discipline for you will not be what Star Fleet would sentence you to, Mr. Spock. I have no rank over you. My methods are physical and-"

"I am certain that if the captain specifically chose you, that he believes your methods to be appropriate," he interrupted.

"Captain Kirk does not know personally of my methods," continued Aiko. She watched his subtle facial expressions for signs of nervousness, before adding, "But, he has extensively researched all of my assignments. All identities of clients are kept anonymous of course, but specifics about my performance and methods are always collected at the end of each assignment."

The half-Vulcan nodded, taking a moment to think again, but about what, the bot could not discern. She had never had such a seemingly stable client before. Most that she dealt with were frantic or very otherwise upset by the time that she arrived to comfort them. Reading Mr. Spock seemed nearly impossible. The bot scanned him again and cocked her head slightly, her black eyes calmly intent.

"Is there something wrong, Miss Aiko?" he asked, raising his eyebrows slightly. He noted that her behavior seemed very odd for a bot at times.

"No, Mr. Spock," answered Aiko quickly, straightening, "Forgive me. I find you to be a very interesting client already."  
"You are interesting as well, Miss Aiko," he replied.

Aiko froze for a moment, and though subtle on her face, Spock noted to himself that she must have also been programmed to display human-like blushing.

"Shall we get on with it?" he asked.

Aiko blinked and stepped forward fluidly, removing the small backpack that she had been wearing. "Yes, Mr. Spock. Please take position lying face down on your preferred area of rest. I will take care of all the rest."

Spock's eyebrows twitched in curiosity, but he did what he was told obediently, on his bed, his arms folded under his chest. The bot searched through her backpack for a moment before retrieving a metal-studded leather paddle and a short whip. She held them both out in front of her and looked intently at one, and then the other, before setting the whip back in the top of her backpack. She stepped towards the bed and set down the paddle before quickly pulling the trousers and undergarments of her client to his mid-calves. The half-Vulcan blinked in surprise, though his face was hidden against his pillow.

"Your punishment is to begin, Mr. Spock. I will add anything specific that you wish, and I will stop anytime you say to. Is this clear?" the bot asked, gripping the paddle.

"Yes, Miss Aiko," answered Spock, lifting his head slightly to avoid being muffled.

Spock heard Aiko emit something of a quiet sigh, which he noted was also strange for a bot, then felt a surge of pain to his backside as the paddle contacted with it. The sensation continued as Aiko beat him rapidly, her blows surprisingly powerful for her small stature. Spock gritted his teeth and concentrated, forcing himself to remain silent and still against the pain. Still, he noted in part of his mind that this was an obscured version of Earthly corporal punishment once used against criminals and in usually milder forms, children. It was certainly not what he had expected, but if the captain had ordered it…

Spock twitched slightly as he felt the free hand of the bot rest almost tenderly against his mid-back, before pressing down, holding him down as she continued to beat his backside and the backs of his thighs; leaving deep bruises and heavy welts where ever the paddle fell. Still, he made no sound, and Aiko noted that every muscle of his body was tense. She knew that Vulcans were stoic, but had never before seen how one would react to such a punishment. He was obviously using a lot of concentration to take such abuse with complete silence, and will to stay put. She pulled back her arm especially far and slapped the paddle against the delicate skin of his under-curve repeatedly; bruises rising until blood nearly escaped his skin. Aiko found it interesting that instead of the redness of alike-damaged human flesh, the backside of a Vulcan turned dark green when paddled.

Spock squeezed his eyes closed against the repeated assault to his posterior and gripped the sides of his arms with his hands, squeezing; every muscle tensed as he repressed any instinct to cry out in agony. Suddenly, the beating halted, the pain coming in waves across his battered backside.

"Mr. Spock is this hurting you at all?" asked Aiko curiously. She had stopped, for once unsure of her actions. Most clients who desired punishment would be screaming and sobbing from the pain, and would have to have been tied or held down tightly for her to get this far.

"Yes, quite a lot," answered Spock neutrally, his muscles staying tense under Aiko's hand. She paused, unsure what to do with him, then set down the paddle and sat next to him on the bed. To Spock's surprise, Aiko wrapped her arm over him, rubbing his side in a gentle circular motion; thinking. Spock tensed more, instinctively.

"Does…not compute," the bot said quietly, "Captain Kirk wanted for me to make you release your emotions. This has never failed before…"

"I am a Vulcan," Spock explained, shifting in discomfort.

"But you are half human according to Captain Kirk," replied Aiko, "He instructed me to comfort your human side because you repress it so. The human part of you aches, but I do not know how to reach it."

Spock paused. He was a bit surprised and maybe even a bit insulted that Captain Kirk had told her such a thing, but knew that it was logical.

"The captain ordered you to bring emotion out of me?" Spock asked.

"Yes," Aiko answered, "He is concerned that your unreleased emotions, particularly the negative ones, are affecting your work, Mr. Spock, as well as your health."

Spock sighed softly. No doubt that Dr. McCoy had also been involved. He felt his cheeks burn slightly green as he wondered just how much detail about his "treatment" had been discussed between two men, without his prior knowledge.  
"Please, Mr. Spock…tell me what bothers you. I could beat you until tears are forced out of you as an involuntary physical response, but that will help with nothing," Aiko said, continuing to stroke his back and side.

"If that is the punishment that the Captain believes I deserve, then I agree. Please continue,"  
Spock replied, bracing himself once more.

"You misunderstand Mr. Spock," Aiko sighed, "Captain Kirk wished for me to bring out your emotions so that you may be healed. He stated that I may have to ask you to transfer your mind's thoughts with mine in some way. It did not fully compute."

"Mind-melding," Spock replied, a very slight tinge of nervousness in his voice, "Miss Aiko…did he specifically ask for this to be done?"

The bot in reply twitched, freezing once more as her eyes lit up.

"He knows how to meld minds, Aiko. You may need him to do this if other methods don't work. And don't be too surprised if they don't. I don't know, Aiko. I just know that you may be his last hope. Vulcans alone are prone to problems due to their emotional numbness. I can't imagine what it does to a half-human," Kirk's voice replied.

"Mind meld, Captain Kirk?" came Aiko's voice, "Does not compute."

"Ask him about it. He'll know what I mean," Kirk answered, "Please, Aiko."

Aiko twitched once more, and straightened. Spock did not move.

"Do you know what he meant by that, Mr. Spock?" Aiko asked quietly, her small hand placed on his lower back.

"Yes," the half-Vulcan finally responded, "Apparently I misjudged Captain Kirk. He does, indeed, intend to give me the punishment that I asked for after all. He wishes for me to share my deepest emotions with you by connecting our minds. Once I open my mind to you, I cannot…suppress."

"Will this melding of minds hurt you, Mr. Spock?" Aiko asked, her voice filled with concern, which, Spock noted, was also rather human of her.

"More than I can describe in words," he replied with a soft sigh. He winced softly as he felt his pants and underwear pulled back into place over his pained backside.

"I am sorry, Mr. Spock," the bot apologized, a gentle hand rubbing along his shoulders in order to sooth him, "Is there anything I can do to lessen the pain of this for you?"

Spock paused to think for a moment before responding, "Do what comes naturally to you, Miss Aiko. If the human side of me is to be released, it will need it." He rolled painfully to his side and looked up at Aiko. "I will touch your hand, and then you will begin to see images of my mind…my memories, and you will know my emotions."

The bot nodded, her dark eyes serious, and gripped Spock's hand with care when he reached for hers. He closed his eyes, his face neutral, and for a moment, Aiko worried that it would not work with a bot. Right as she was about to mention this, she was hit with a sudden vision. A young, seemingly Vulcan child walked home from school, trying his hardest to ignore the taunts of the other Vulcan children around him.

"Half-breed!" shouted one, throwing a small rock at him and missing.

"Yeah, his mom's a human. Let's see if we can make him cry!" another added, throwing well-aimed textbook at the back of the young Vulcan's head, knowing him to the ground. The child did not respond, and instead picked himself up shakily, his face bloodied from the fall. He continued to walk with dignity as the others cruelly continued to tease.  
The vision faded into another of a pretty female human, holding the Vulcan child and rocking him. The Vulcan's face was calm, his eyes closed, though the human woman sobbed into the top of his head.

"The human in you cries, Spock, though the Vulcan in you won't let it out. I will cry for you, my little one," the lady's voice echoed.

Several images of the Vulcan child's life passed swiftly through the bots mind, as if flipping through pages of a book. Throughout it, the same bullies were present, plus new ones as the years went on, and discrimination from countless teachers. Also, the kind human mother was there to comfort, though a distant but well-meaning Vulcan father stood in the background, though Aiko could not make out his blurry details.

Another scene flashed, and a young adult Spock stood in Star Fleet uniform, looking proud. "I do not approve of your choices," echoed the voice of the older Vulcan. Spock turned and walked away; again unable to display his hurt. He was forced to turn forever from the father that he could never talk to.

"Ambassador Sarek?" Aiko said out loud, causing Spock's hand to twitch in hers though he could not answer her.  
Again, years flew by like old movie film, and Spock stood in front of a sudden explosion. "Captain Pike!" he shouted, running towards the wreckage. Digging without regard for his own safety, Spock found the arm of his friend and captain, and pulled the badly burnt and critically injured human man from the wreckage. "No…Captain…" Spock gasped, holding the near-lifeless body.

Years flashed by from there on, and Aiko witnessed years of friendship between Spock and Captain Kirk. Though Spock missed the captain that he had served with for over a decade, he was loyal to the core to Kirk, and Kirk reciprocated the same back. They were Captain and First Officer, but also friends, sometimes like brothers, and sometimes almost seeming to be lovers, but nonetheless close. Then came the image of the severely deformed Captain Pike, and the image of a stunningly beautiful blonde lady with wild blue eyes. Captain Pike, suddenly restored to his formerly strong and handsome form, hugged the beautiful woman to him and they kissed, tears of joy streaming down both of their faces.

The aliens who had made the illusions possible smiled pleasantly and nodded at one another, pleased with themselves. Spock looked on from onboard the Enterprise and smiled softly for his friend, though the guilt of acting against Captain Kirk and initially, Captain Pike, prevented him from feeling any pride in his actions.

Both Aiko and Spock twitched as reality snapped back to them. Aiko now laid next to Spock, holding him closely to her, and he had returned her embrace. But, coming back, Spock tensed and Aiko herself tilted back a moment. Clearly at some point, the human instinct in Spock had reached out for her comfort, and she had done what came to her naturally.  
"You poor man…" she said quietly into his pointed ear, before pulling him closer to her in a full embrace. Shakily, Spock twitched and tensed as if fighting something in him. Then, as sudden as the tremors had come, they stopped, and he held her back, his body trembling slightly.

Aiko held him carefully and looked down at his still-blank face, though she noted that his eyes had changed. There was a hint of vulnerability in the depths of them, since the human side had been given a fighting chance at last.

"Captain Kirk does not wish to bully tears out of you for amusement, Mr. Spock," the bot said quietly after awhile, "His intent is not cruel like those children where to you. He has asked me to do this for the good of you; not so that he can laugh at you. Humans have the ability to weep because it is emotionally soothing to them when they are hurting. There is a certain release of hormones that cannot be otherwise replicated, but is essential to humans. You are half human, and so you also have a need for the release of those hormones, though you deny it and if affects your health and well-being."

"I understand, Miss Aiko," answered Spock, his eyes glancing away, "It is difficult for me. The Vulcan side does not normally permit emotion. But these are the Captain's direct orders, and I will follow them."

"I will help you," Aiko promised, her hand running soothingly along his shoulders and back as she had seen his mother do in the images. Hesitating a moment, Spock nuzzled against her shoulder awkwardly.

"Life has been so cruel to you, Mr. Spock," the bot continued with sadness in her tone, "Are you sure that more punishment is what you need from me?"

"Yes," the half-Vulcan replied without hesitation.

"I will punish you, then," responded Aiko with a gentle squeeze. After knowing his mind, Aiko understood what she had to do. Most who desired punishment responded to gentleness; Spock responded to orders. "I will hurt you until you feel you have reached your limit, and then I will take the punishment slightly further," the bot continued, "I will then comfort you as I see fit, and will care for you as you heal. I will continue these methods for today and the next four days. You will be able to return to your duties at the end of your vacation, though you may still be sore. Your assignment now is to cry as many times as you possibly can in these next four days, to heal the human in you. You will have to fight the Vulcan instincts, hard. Do you understand, Mr. Spock?"

"Just 'Spock', please," he answered, fighting his Vulcan side, "And yes, I do understand, Miss Aiko."

"Just 'Aiko' please, Spock," replied the bot with a warm smile. Her expression then turned serious, "Spock, what part of your body is most sensitive to pain?"

Spock paused for a moment, and Aiko felt his heart pound against her side, and realized that anatomy-wise, Spock was more like a Vulcan than a human. No wonder he felt the need to suppress his human side. Brutally teased for being a half-breed, he logically tried to pass for the side that he most resembled in order to avoid further cruelty. Aiko frowned sadly at this realization and had a sudden urge to kiss him, though she fought it.

"My hands," he replied quietly, "Particularly my palms; also, my lips and my ears."

The bot squeezed the half-Vulcan man tightly to her and continued to massage his shoulders as she thought, though this seemed to have little effect on his state. His nervousness was apparent now to her extra sensory. She could hear it in his pulse and smell it on his skin, and she closed her eyes as she felt her massive black pupils nearly fill her eyes.  
Aiko stood up suddenly and motioned for Spock, who sat up, wincing slightly as he stood. Aiko started to smile softly but stopped when she noticed Spock's quizzical look at her eyes. She looked away quickly and to her relief, he inquired no further for the moment.

"Spock, you are to kneel on the floor, facing your sleeping area. Please then stretch your arms outwards onto the mattress and place your hands together, palms up," the bot instructed.

Spock silently obeyed the orders, only hesitating a moment as he turned his sensitive palms upwards. In that position, his forehead was pressed to the edge of the mattress and he could not look up to receive hints on Aiko's next move. The bot, meanwhile, picked up the whip that she had left at the top of her backpack and sat on the edge on the bed.  
"I will ask one more time; are you certain that more punishment is what you want, Spock?" she asked, her free hand resting on his right shoulder, causing him to jump very subtly.

"Yes," he replied again, without hesitation.

The bot nodded, and her hand shifted to the back of his neck where she pressed firmly as the raised the short whip high and brought it down on Spock's upturned palms. A shudder of pain surged through his body and he fought the urge to cry out, or rather, he fought the urge to not cry out, but the Vulcan in him was used to being in charge. Aiko cringed for him as she whipped the palms of his hands several times, green welts rising. Had Spock seen her expression, he would have noted that cringing is not a very bot-like behavior. He would have noted that empathetic cringing was a rather human-like behavior. But he could not note anything at the moment, because his human side was busy telling the side of him that did the vast majority of the noting to shut up. It was a difficult task and Spock's body shook with effort.  
Watching his internal struggles, Aiko frowned. Memories were like bits of data in the brain, she thought, and she was able to access and relive her own, as well as cause other bots to relive theirs. Comfort-bots often times used this method to make each other relive and remember happy bits of recorded memory data. Pausing for a moment, Aiko moved her hand from the back of Spock's neck to the back of his head as her eyes began to glow.

Spock gasped as he felt a tingling sensation on the back of his head and flexed his throbbing hands. Suddenly, the internal fight in his head was paused and he was small again, cornered by his tormentors. The vision was ended quickly and Aiko sucked in a breath quietly, before bringing the whip down, hard, on the tips of Spock's delicate fingers, causing a small splattering of green blood as the leather broke the skin. Spock shuddered out loud and looked up at Aiko, feeling a stinging sensation in his eyes before his vision blurred slightly. The mix of the pain, as well as the mental pain brought to the surface was too much for the Vulcan side to handle. It was illogical; completely and totally illogical. The entire situation was illogical. The Vulcan side was stumped, but the human side understood, for once.  
Aiko smiled softly down at Spock, though her eyes seemed humanly sad to him.  
"You are doing well, darling," she said gently, before realizing her term of affection.

To her relief, the half-Vulcan did not seem to notice or mind, and pressed his head once more to the edge of the bed, shuddering repeatedly, and choking back pain. The bot placed her hand to his head once more, and images of his past whirred through his head at incredible speed, making him feel pain, physical, mental, emotional, from different situations in his life at once. He cried out in agony as his mind and palms were torn open, and shuddered once more before waves of quiet sobs traveled through him at last. Aiko frowned, feeling her own eyes burn slightly and her pupils expand as she continued to whip the helpless half-Human's hands, fighting her own urges to hold him.

Spock pressed his forehead and closed his eyes against the edge of the bed, sobbing openly as he felt blood ooze from his hands. At the same time in his mind, his father told him how much he disapproved. Still, he kept his bloodied hands in place, needing more. Instead, the whipping halted; waves of agony and relief firing across his palms. The bot then wrapped an arm around his back, pinning him in place, and pulled down his pants and underwear once more. Spock struggled slightly, (a healthy human instinct, Aiko noted), and whimpered softly into the edge of the mattress as Aiko whipped his already injured backside and thighs, mercilessly. His screams and sobs were muffled a lot by the edge of the mattress as he felt warm blood trickle down the backs of his thighs, and he understood, then, why Aiko had chosen this particular position for him, and was grateful.

The whip hit the tops of Spock's hips, leaving shallow slices, as he felt waves of fear and shame as a child in his mind. At the same time, he felt the frustration and utter helplessness of being unable to help his damaged former captain at the scene of the disaster. His muscles gave way at last and his body went limp, quivering uncontrollably as he wept into the mattress. Breathing a quiet sigh of relief, Aiko set the bloodied whip aside, and carefully helped Spock back onto the bed, sliding his underwear and pants back on. He writhed in pain as she did this, but did not protest. Instead he instinctively curled his body slightly, shaking.

"No more punishment for now," the bot assured as she pulled Spock close, resting her chin on the top of his head. In response, he clung to her and wept into her chest. His Vulcan half was by now, thoroughly confused, though his Human half felt an unexplainable release. Aiko squeezed him gently and began to rub his muscles, noting that the act seemed to still have a calming effect on him. Spock calmed slightly at Aiko's gentle massage but shook, his eyes still shut.  
"Fear," Aiko's mind processed, "A very human response." She realized that Spock probably did not understand what had just happened to his mind and memories.

"It is something that bots can do to one another. I have never tried it on a non-bot before, but there was no danger involved in trying," Aiko explained into one pointed ear, nuzzling against him soothingly, "I just accessed and reactivated your memories. You are safe now."

Spock looked up at her finally, his eyes swollen and tired. The bot smiled gently down at him and cupped his face in her palm tenderly. "You did very well, Spock," she added.

"Thank you, Aiko," Spock answered quietly, diverting his eyes as his face turned slightly more green as fresh tears rolled down his cheeks. Aiko in response tilted her head endearingly to Spock and cuddled him warmly, planting a soft kiss on the top of his head, unable to help herself. Spock froze in confusion, maybe a bit of surprise as well, but embraced her back, possibly surprising himself as well.

"It disappoints me that Ambassador Sarek does not approve of you," Aiko said quietly after a pause, "In all of your memories, I have seen only an honorable person. A gentle person, except in combat; humane even then. Does not compute. He should be proud of you." She sighed.

Spock was silent, but his grip on Aiko tightened slightly and Aiko got the feeling that he appreciated her words, but also sensed a lot of confusion in him.

"Spock, do you have any clothing here except for uniforms?" the bot asked suddenly.

"Yes, I have sleeping clothes as well," Spock replied.

"Perfect," Aiko continued, "I think it would be comforting to you to bathe and change into more comfortable clothing. I will then tend to your needs. Do you need help with bathing?" The bot looked with concern at his damaged hands, but the half-Vulcan blushed deep green at the suggestion.

"I am quite capable, Aiko," he assured.

Aiko nodded and stroked Spock's back a few more times, thinking, before pulling him back and looking at him, her deep pupils meeting his. "While you are bathing, I will cleanse as well and change the clothing of this bed, and…I will prepare." Her eyes glanced at the emerald-stained sheets and she cringed slightly and stood up.

"Prepare, Aiko?" asked Spock, raising an eyebrow and he stood slowly, wincing in pain.

"I believe I owe you some explanation on a lot of things," explained the bot, her pink-tinged eyelids fluttering closed for a moment before opening once more, "Like why I recognized your father. Forgive me, Spock, I must first defragment my memory files. It will only take a moment."

Spock nodded. "I understand," he said to her. When she looked up, she saw familiar sincerity of his words reflected in his eyes. Of course he understood.

"Thank you," Aiko replied with a soft smile.

Spock nodded once more and turned, heading for his quarter shower, concentrating hard to prevent from limping. He sincerely hoped that his clothing would go straight to the washer from the laundry chute without anybody noticing the unmistakable green Vulcan blood that stained them.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Hurray, someone likes this story! Thanks so much for the kind review, and thanks to it, I will certainly keep updating. The reason this hasn't been reviewed much is that for some odd reason, it's not showing up under the star trek section of this site. I've emailed support, asking how to fix this, but I've received no reply yet. Sadly, I lost the nice review because I had to delete the story and reupload, in hopes that it will show up.

I am nearly finished with chapter 3,(which will be mature in content, hence the rating of this story, though I will not post anything explicit on this sit. Instead, I will put a less racy version on here, and give the link for the chapter in its full glory on adultfanfiction). This chapter is mostly explaining what/who Aiko is, etc, and there's more fluff and comfort. So...enjoy! :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any characters/places/etc involved in Star Trek. (Aiko however, is my character.)

Aiko watched Spock disappear stiffly into his bathing area and fought the urge to follow him to help him bathe. His injuries would make bathing painful, though she realized that in his mind, it was just part of his punishment. The realization only made her want to hold him even more. She sighed as she removed her own uniform and dropped it into the laundry chute. She closed her eyes and froze, as her body began its self-clean procedure. Lavender-scented soap oozed slightly from her pores all over her body, followed by a rinse of water. Her body unfroze as she reached for a towel in her backpack and proceeded to dry herself off before putting on a fresh uniform.

She then removed the sheets and bedspread from Spock's mattress and tossed them into the laundry chute as well, along with her towel. Aiko found clean bedding in a nearby drawer and remade the bed perfectly, fluffing the pillow. She nodded at the completion of the task before she sat on the edge of the bed and held her head in concentration.

"Defragmentation, activate," she said out loud before freezing, her eyes wide and glowing white.

Meanwhile, Spock painfully attempted to bathe himself with deeply cut palms. Each scrubbing movement sent powerful waves throughout his hands and arms, causing him to hiss in agony. The human part of him wished that he had allowed for Aiko to help him to bathe, and even the Vulcan side seemed to think that it would have been the logical choice. Still, something other than his mere breed forced him to continue his bathing routine as quickly as possible. Once dried, Spock allowed himself only a moment to catch his breath and calm himself, before stepping into his night outfit; a set of blue pajamas. He returned to the main room of his quarters to find Aiko sitting on the foot of his bed, her eyes glowing brightly though her face was blank, and her body stiff. Spock assumed this to be maintenance mode.

"Fascinating," the half-Vulcan remarked, raising his pointed eyebrows.

At that moment, Aiko's body unfroze; her eyes once again black and shining with huge pupils.

"Spock?" she asked with a bright, clueless-looking smile.

"Yes, Aiko?" replied Spock, looking perplexed.

Aiko blinked several times as her eye twitched, the smile dropping. "Oh…maintenance…I recall now. I apologize; I am fully functional once more," the bot answered suddenly, "I…I recall everything clearly at this moment. Spock, please lie back down on the bed. I will attend to your wounds, and then I will explain everything."

The half-Vulcan twitched his eyebrows in response and nodded, before lying down obediently, his body twitching slightly. Aiko sighed, knowing that the Vulcan side was back in charge, at least for the time being. She followed, pulling an extensive first aid kit from her backpack.

"Aiko, what is the point of inflicting punishment if said punishment is then helped to heal?" questioned Spock.

Aiko paused and blinked. "I…do not have an answer for that, Spock. I will be sure to ask for it to be included in my next programming update. Your hands and posterior are injured and need medical care."

"No," is all Spock said.

Aiko sighed in a near-human frustration and for a moment, Spock was amusedly reminded of McCoy. He half expected a "Dammit, Spock!" out of her, but her response was once again calm.

"Please at least allow me to cleanse your wounds with antiseptic and bandage them so that you do not contract infection or get more blood on your clothing and sleeping space," she requested. She sighed, and then added, "The antiseptic, of anything, will make it hurt worse for the time being."

Spock thought for a moment, and then nodded. "That seems logical," he replied, stretching his hands out in front of him. He had no desire to end up having to go to sickbay for infected whip-marks. He did not care to explain that one to Dr. McCoy or Nurse Chapel.  
His pajama bottoms were suddenly pulled down and gauze, wet with stinging antiseptic brushed over the cuts on his backside, hips, and thighs. Spock winced at the terrible burning and gripped his pillow with his cut hands. Aiko frowned and stroked his mid-back soothingly as the antiseptic dried.

"I would put pain relieving healing ointment on them if you would allow me to," she offered.

"No," replied Spock quickly, "But thank you."

Aiko nodded as she applied bandages to the open wounds and replaced his pajama bottoms, to his relief. She moved herself to the top of the bed and took Spock's left hand, stroking it gently before dabbing his cuts with antiseptic. Spock cringed and pressed his face against his pillow, hiding his pained expression, as Aiko doused his other hand. She cupped them both in her own hands as the antiseptic dried, and then worked quickly to bandage both hands.

Spock's body quivered with effort to stay silent and still and Aiko contemplated with her urge once more, but decided not to fight them. She carefully picked up the injured half-Vulcan's hands and planted a tender kiss on each bandaged palm. Spock looked up at her, obviously surprised, but Aiko smiled and snuggled closer to him. He paused a moment before allowing himself to relax back against her. She was a comfort-bot after all and it was captain's orders. He noticed that the bot tightened her hold on him slightly, causing him to look up at her in confusion. She looked down at him and bit her eternally-shimmery lip. Spock raised his eyebrow in questioning.

"You have a lot of questions. I…hope that this will answer them all," Aiko explained as she carefully guided one of Spock's hands to the back of her head and held it there as she began to access her memories, "Most of these memories are recorded from my vision. Some were implanted during programming to fill in missing sequences of events, for my benefit and the benefit of the programmers."

"Interesting," Spock remarked.

"Oh yes, very," Aiko agreed with a floaty-looking smile as her memories began to kick in.

Spock watched her face as the present began to fade out. The last thing that he saw was her eyes; the black pupils had taken over her eyes completely. The world around him whited out completely for a moment, before he was suddenly surrounded by pink clouds. A bright sky in five shades of hideous pink popped up in front of him, filled with glittering stars. He raised an eyebrow, very confused indeed. He heard Aiko's slightly computerized sigh.

"I apologize, Spock," he head her voice say. It seemed to be coming from all around him. "This was put in my programming for the rare times that I would choose to show somebody this information. The atmosphere of this mode was made to seem comforting, but it is an experimental design. Do you find it comforting, Spock?" Spock could have sworn that he had heard the bot snicker.

"If I were a teenage human female, I would find this to be most comforting," Spock replied.

"I shall tell my programmers of your opinion the next time that I am updated," replied Aiko with bot-like cheeriness in her tone.

A square in the sky in front of Spock flickered and turned on, revealing itself to be a large screen.

"Memory processing," came Aiko's voice. There was a pause before she continued, "Accessing memory files."

The screen glowed as images quickly appeared. Spock watched, unable to look away. It appeared that he was looking directly at Aiko's saved background.

There was an image of what appeared to be a human male, sitting in a primitive-looking wheelchair. He wore a white lab coat and looked carefully at vials of different liquids and typed notes into some kind of machine. He was obviously some kind of scientist. The man looked to be in late forties, and wore large glasses, but he had a kind look to his expression.

Spock watched the screen and noticed that Aiko had gone silent as images flashed by. "Aiko?"

"I am functional, Spock," Aiko's voice answered after a pause, "Forgive me. The man who you see is the man who created me."

Spock nodded, understanding, and continued to watch images of the scientist as he looked at something under a microscope and tinkered with computer parts. He also seemed to read an abnormal amount of books and data files; obsessive almost. As he watched, Aiko explained the images.

"He was a very successful scientist of human anatomy and behavior… culture…everything about the species. He had fame and wealth, but no love in his life, and love was the only thing out of all of it that he really wanted, ever. He studied human bodily and brain functions extensively, and using a mix of a preserved female…human, frozen moments before death, and machine, created …" Aiko trailed off, as the images spoke for themselves.

There flashed a scene of a female silhouette floating in glass, fluid-filled tube, tubes and cords hooked to every part of her body. Long, black and pink hair trailed behind her naked body in the tube, and occasionally her eyes fluttered, as if she were trying to awaken. The man would wheel himself close to the tube and touch is gently each time he saw her stir, looking hopeful.  
Spock nodded to himself. It made sense now. All of her subtle giveaways, her non-machine traits; Aiko was part human, part computer; the kind that Kirk and McCoy always joked about him being. He continued to watch the screen.

The man would occasionally tinker with the tubes in the holding tank, filling them with different materials. He would also put endless disks into a connected computer, occasionally typing some kind of data.

"I was programmed with extensive medical knowledge, as well as a defense and rescue system, in case anything ever happened to him…and I was programmed not to be as affected by inflicting pain. He was in chronic pain because of his disease, and did not want me to panic if he cried out in pain when I moved him…" Aiko's voice explained notably quietly, "He made my senses far superior to humans and my skin…he could not move much, Spock…"

The half-Vulcan raised his eyebrows.

"He…wanted not only pleasure, but to give pleasure and love as well. I can be stimulated reproductively through any place on my skin with minimal physical assertion…." she continued. Spock continued to look upwards with his raised pointed eyebrows, and Aiko could not tell if he was shocked, amused, or offended.

"I apologize if you wished not to know that," she added quietly.

"Interesting," is all the half-Vulcan said in reply.

"Yes…very…" the bot sighed once more.

The man in the wheelchair continued to update Aiko and build on her, making her perfect in every way. The memory files showed many nights where the man would fall asleep, his face pressed against her glass. Other times, he would fall asleep with his head on the computer monitor, his glasses pressed in odd directions. Around the room, there were odd posters from an older time in Japanese culture where the people were obsessed with large-eyed female cartoon characters with strange-colored hair. Apparently this scientist had also been a fan.  
One day, the man rolled over to the tank quickly, ignoring the pain of doing so, and beamed up at Aiko's body in excitement. He wrote something quickly in his journal and watched, displaying signs of human joy.

The bot meanwhile stirred slightly in her tube, her long hair waving around her naked, nearly completed body. The man smiled contently, the flinched, his eyes suddenly growing wide. His right hand flew to his left arm which appeared to go stiff and numb and the man made a choking noise. With a crash, he fell out of his wheelchair on the ground, helpless to get up. The bot stirred slightly in her tube, not yet conscious and complete, unaware of the world outside of her liquid-filled holding tank. The man reached out towards the tank with a quivering hand, but with one last heaving breath, collapsed, never to stir again.

Spock was silent for a long moment. He had noted several minute prior that Aiko had discontinued her narration of the memory files, and he now understood why. "My condolences," he said solemnly.

"Thank you," the bot replied, and he detected a slight shake in her voice.

The screen changed rapidly to Aiko's emergence from her tube. At the assigned time, the tube drained itself of water and the bot gasped her first breath of air in loudly and choked, coughing out fluid as she huddled on the bottom of the tube. The glass in front unlocked and swung open and the bot peeked out cautiously, shivering from the chill of nakedness.

The images changed to be from the view of Aiko, as she stepped out of the tube, onto the concrete floor. She then caught the sight of her deceased creator on the floor and marched over to him, obviously not understanding.

"Hello! I am A 1 K 0 at your service, Dr. Edward Geralds," she announced with a bow and a cheery smile. She stood for a moment, watching the body as confusion set it.

"Dr. Edward Geralds?" she asked as she knelt down to touch him, but cringed back instinctively when she felt his ice-cold skin on her fingertips, "Doctor…?"

The bot gingerly flipped the body over to reveal that the man previously inhabiting said body had departed maybe as much as a day before. Aiko's vision froze on the sight of the body in horror. She quickly grabbed the body and began resuscitation to no effect. She tried resuscitation repeatedly for about an hour's time, or so the memory files indicated. In between tries, she placed her hands on the chest of the body and issued a sudden shock of electricity; attempting to restart the heart to no avail.

Finally the realization set in and Aiko clutched the body as her vision blurred heavily with tears, her body trembling. "N-no…does not compute…" she mumbled, holding the body to her, "Must be…some error…error…error…" she closed her eyes for a moment and reopened them, revealing completely blank, cobalt-blue eye screens, the images shown from third person once more. There were no pupils, no whites, no irises, just blue screens. "Error…Error! Error! Error! Error!" the bot repeated; her blank eyes wide as smoke began to erupt from the back of her head. It had been too much for her programming to take in without add-ons, and her circuits had fried, leaving her unable to do anything but lie with a corpse and announce error mode.

"I had been programmed to meet his needs, to service him, to care for him, to love…" Aiko's voice explained quietly, "I was made to fulfill every need and desire of my creator…but by the time I was complete, Dr. Edward Geralds was deceased. I had been programmed only for him. All of my actions required his actions and so when he ceased to exist…"

"You were…" Spock trailed off, looking deep in thought.

"I was his fantasy, brought to life," Aiko finished.

They fell silent once more as the images continued. Several days were shown to go by where the bot clung to her creator's corpse, announcing error mode. Then, a familiar voice began to narrate the images; it was Sarek. Spock blinked, surprised for a moment.

"Ambassador Sarek recorded this part into my memory files, so that I would understand that I had not really been kidnapped…you will see what I mean by that soon," Aiko's voice explained as Sarek's continued,  
"I had scheduled to meet with Dr. Edward Geralds, a galaxy-renowned human life and behavior specialist, and a longtime friend. As my men and I approached, we could sense that something was wrong. When there was no answer to our knocks at his door, we proceeded to break into and enter the home of Dr. Edward Geralds. I had known for a long time that he was not in good health. We knew what we would find before we saw it. However, we discovered an addition to our imaginings," the deep voice explained neutrally. His voice then stopped as the images took over for the explanation.

The team of Vulcans marched into the room, led by a relatively young Sarek. Spock blinked in surprise once more at the images. His father and he, at similar ages looked almost identical.

"Now you see why I experienced a slight moment of confusion when I first saw you, Spock," Aiko's voice explained quietly, "For a moment, I worried that I had marched myself into the room of an old friend, disturbing his privacy."

Spock nodded silently, pursing his lips. "That is a rather logical reaction given the information behind it," he said after a pause. He could not see Aiko's face, but got the distinct feeling that she had smiled. He looked up to see that the Vulcans on the screen had made an attempt to pry the bot from the body of her creator, without much success. Several strong Vulcan men pulled at her, finally releasing her grip just enough to pull her from the body.

In reaction, Aiko began to announce error mode loudly as she fought and struggled against the Vulcans, knocking two of them over. The third, a technician, grasped at her desperately but she caught him, their arms and legs intertwined so that neither could move easily. Sarek, meanwhile, had calmly walked across the room and skimmed the data and writings of the late Dr. Geralds, and had made a rather fascinating discovery of what exactly Aiko was composed of. He looked up in time to see the bot and one of his men in a physical stalemate of sorts, neither harming the other, but neither able to move forward, and the other two men scrambling to their feet to grip the bot. "ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!" she announced.

Sarek walked up behind the bot and the stuck Vulcan, shooing the other two out of the way, and quickly grasped the area between the bot's shoulder and neck, causing her to fall limply to the floor, silent. The Vulcan who she had been struggling against straightened. "Thank you, sir," he said to Sarek, "But how did you know that it would work?"

Sarek tossed his cloak over the naked bot and scooped her up with care. "It was the only logical solution," he said simply with a nod to his men. The medic of the team made his way quickly to the corpse and began to scan it, inspecting the cause of death.  
"What will we do with her, sir?" one of the other men asked. Meanwhile, the third man had curiously looked through a closet to find outfits for a female the size of the bot, much to the relief of all of them. He chose the most modest of the outfits and hung them over his arm to bring along.

"This…being…" Sarek replied, raising a pointed eyebrow at the unconscious bot in his arms, "Was the stated "magnum opus" of Dr. Edward Gerald's, according to his notes. She is…part machine, part human. She was meant to fulfill human desires for comfort and companionship as well as to offer medical assistance to him in his poor state of health. I knew Dr. Geralds personally…he would not have wanted for his creation to be left in this state. We will do our best to help her."

The men nodded, and Sarek pulled out a communication device and reported the finding of Dr. Edward Geralds' body, and the medic reported that death had been caused by a sudden unexpected heart attack with no ill-doing involved. They then copied the data that they had come from, which had by irony been lying open along with other studies of the human mind.

"It should prove to be quite interesting when this being reawakens," Sarek commented to the medic, who nodded in agreement as they re-boarded their travel ship.

Aiko was placed temporarily in the ship's electronic storage unit for safe keeping. Meanwhile, the Vulcans pondered what to do with her. A series of images flashed by, showing Sarek and a team of Vulcans as they looked through records and seemed to discuss possible options.  
"She is equip with defense and rescue techniques, Ambassador. Perhaps she could aid in planetary defense?" a Vulcan who by his uniform was clearly a scientist suggested.

"Perhaps…" replied Sarek as he continued to read through hand written notes of the late Dr. Geralds.

"Or possibly the medical field," the medic added, looking up from a data file, "She does have extensive medical knowledge."

"That too is a possibility," Sarek agreed as he turned the pages rapidly.

"Ambassador," commented a Vulcan man who held a variety of technical tools, "I have heard recently of an organization full of androids who act much as this model was supposed to in purpose. They are known as 'Comfort-b-'" Their conversation, however, was interrupted by a sudden crash. The Vulcans stood at alert and on Sarek's command, headed straight for the storage unit.

The team cautiously opened the door to the storage unit and looked remotely startled by what they saw. The bot had not only awakened but in her attempt to get to the nearest wall, had knocked over several heavy holding containers for various equipment. She had since made her way to the wall of the unit and appeared to be clawing the wall with the tips of her fingers. "ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!" she announced, her eyes blank, cobalt blue and glowing.

Sarek paused for a moment to think, before quickly moving towards the bot, followed by his team. "You are A 1 K 0, or Aiko as your creator, Dr. Edward Geralds called you," Sarek explained as he approached, "We know about you. I was a lifelong friend of Dr. Geralds. You are in no danger here."

"ERROR!" Aiko replied as she continued to claw the wall.

"Ambassador, what is she doing?" asked the scientist as he stepped closed to the malfunctioning bot as well.

"It would appear, Dr. Skon, that she is attempting to return to the body of Dr. Geralds," explained Sarek with a slightly solemn look, "Her loyalty for her creator is in the deepest part of her programming." Sarek reached out to touch the shoulders of the bot, who clawed feverishly at the side of the ship. "She is attempting currently to dig her way out of the side of the ship. It is illogical, but she is in error mode." He withdrew slightly as he caught sight of her fingers, and their near lack of fingertips as the bot continued to grind away at the metal interior of the ship. Sarek, noting the damage, reached out quickly and tried to pull the bot back.

"ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!" she announced louder than ever, but Sarek held on tightly and to the surprise of his team, pulled her into an awkward embrace.

"ERROR! Error! Error…err…" Aiko repeated as her body slumped, once again unconscious. Though her eyelids were closed peacefully, the blue screens glowed eerily through them. Sarek caught the limp body and picked her up once more, looking uncomfortable. "She needs help immediately," he said with a serious look towards each member of his team. The others nodded in reply.

"How did you know what to do, Ambassador?" asked the medic with a curious look towards the bot.

"I read her programming notes that an embrace is the single fastest and most efficient way to calm this model," Sarek explained as he made his way back out of the storage unit, "And so it is with humans, of whom she is part as well. She will not stay in the storage unit again."

"I will make sure she is placed in proper quarters," Dr. Skon assured with a nod, "After we fix her programming, and her hands." He and the technician nodded at one another, and the technician observed one of the hands closely as the broken and dangling fingers short-circuited.

Nothing more needed to be said; it was clear that the two men knew what to do. Aiko was quickly moved to the surgical ward of the ship where the medic and technician worked seemingly for hours to reattach each finger. The technician then opened her programming unit, located in her lower back, and began to work quickly. Sarek entered the room quietly and watched with interest. Suddenly, the technician shook his head and a subtle look of confusion crossed his face.

"What is it, Balor?" asked Sarek with a raised eyebrow as he glanced from bot to technician.

"Ambassador…" explained Balor, "There are some things deeply embedded in her programming, including her dedication to the last Dr. Geralds. My concern is that if this is not repaired in some way that she will immediately go back into error mode upon awakening. Sir…you know a good deal about the inner workings of computers as well-"

Sarek nodded once, cutting the technician off, and stepped in towards the bot, taking the tools in his own hands. "You are correct, Balor," he said calmly as he began to work, "It would be illogical to bring her back if she were unable to have free will. No living being should be forcibly made to serve another."

"Sir?" asked Dr. Skon, as he ran a scan of the bot's brain functions.

"Dr. Edward Geralds was a longtime friend of mine," Sarek continued gravely, "But his ethics lacked in some matters."

None of the Vulcans said anything for awhile, and Sarek continued to work on the programming, erasing old information and updating it with new. Finally, he stepped back and took a deep breath, Balor right behind him.

"I believe I have solved the technical problem," Sarek announced as he straightened, "And now, I shall fill her in with details of this event, so that when she wakes, she will know that there is no logical reason to attempt escape." Balor nodded and grabbed a set of files, feeding each one into her data port.

"This is…quite fascinating," Dr. Skon suddenly remarked as he held up a scan of the bot's brain, "It appears that though her left hemisphere is completely mechanical…" he trailed off and shook his head in disbelief.

Balor and Sarek paused and stared intently at the medic who quickly continued, noticing their stares, "The right hemisphere of her brain is entirely human."

"An android capable of human emotion…" Sarek concluded with a blink, "Fascinating."

"Quite," continued Dr. Skon as he pulled up several documents, "It also appears that she has extra sensory. Stronger senses of hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch-"

They were interrupted by a soft moan coming from Aiko. Sarek quickly closed her finished programming port and the team rolled her over carefully. She bot stared up at then, her mouth slightly open with pain. Though her eyes were finally out of error mode, their black pupils were wide with sensation, and tears fell out the outer corners of them into her shiny hair, and a whimper built in her throat.

"The surgery…the extra sensory…" Sarek said as he studied the bot curiously, "Dr. Skon, keep her heavily drugged, as heavily as you can without damage to her."

The doctor nodded and quickly administered a dose of heavy pain killers, and Aiko's look glazed quickly.

"Unit A 1 K 0, are you functional?" Sarek asked, subtle concern crossing his sharp features.

"Aiko…" the bot replied dreamily.

"Of course," Sarek nodded, "The symbols A, one, K, and zero, when arranged in that pattern imitate the human name "Aiko", Japanese in origin, meaning "love". But how would a bot know that without special programming?"

"She is also part human, Ambassador," Balor added, "Every humanoid species wishes to be called a name or title. Once you programmed her with free choice, you instilled her with that."

Sarek nodded. "Aiko," he continued, staring intently at the drugged bot, "Are you functional?"

The bot twitched slightly and smiled cheerily. "Hello! I am Aiko, at your service," she announced.

"No Aiko," Sarek corrected, "You serve no one here."

The bot blinked her large eyes in confusion, before closing them, her body limp once more. Sarek nodded to Dr. Skon, "Keep her that way until she is fully healed."

The images flashed by, showing many days where the bot laid in her quarters, sleeping or heavily drugged. Multiple times when she was awake, Sarek would come into her quarters and update her with extensive memory files on a large variety of subjects. Aiko seemed to look forward to this, and became more alert as she healed. Soon, she was shown walking quickly in a very bot-like manner around the ship, greeting perplexed Vulcans with a cheery smile, and often times attempting to help them in their duties, which usually ended up Sarek or Balor leading her away with lures of information files, leaving the Vulcan "victim" rather confused and mildly disturbed.

The images flashed to a scene where Sarek and Balor were talking quietly in Aiko's quarters as she sat in maintenance mode in the background, her eyes glowing.

"I am unsure as where to place her," Sarek confided in the technician, "She will not fit into Vulcan society."

"No," agreed Balor, "But perhaps she will find belonging in that Comfort-Bot company."

"Ah, perhaps," agreed Sarek, "You had mentioned that once before. It seems a shame though that she can hold so much information but still only wishes to serve others."

The technician shrugged in reply before adding, "It is in her core being, Ambassador. It would take more than excellent re-programming to change that."

Aiko suddenly straightened and stood as her maintenance completed. "Hello! I am Aiko, at your service," she announced with an unnervingly bright smile. A moment passed, and she then blinked and looked around. "I apologize," she added with a beguilingly innocent look, "I am now fully functional."

Sarek studied the bot for a moment before nodding. "Yes, Balor, I think that the company you mentioned might do rather well for her. And maybe they could fix that bit of freeze-up she has when she first comes out of maintenance mode as well."

Smiling pleasantly, Aiko began to make her way to the exit of the room in hopes of "helping" some Vulcans in need, but was caught by Balor, who held up a new information file to the bot's visual joy. Sarek watched curiously. The bot let out a quiet purr as she accessed the new information, and Balor stepped back and nodded.

The images flashed once more, and the team was shown to un-board the ship, onto the planet of Vulcan. Aiko looks around with wide eyes as she walked between Sarek and Balor. They led her to a small group of men and women who were dressed in pastel-colored uniforms. They smiled pleasantly, and all attempted the Vulcan hand salute, most failing terribly. Sarek and Balor saluted back, and Aiko looked at her own hand and tried to force her fingers into the same position, looking fascinated.

A man in a lilac suit stepped forwards and looked Aiko over, as did a woman in a mint green tunic. The man smiled at Sarek, who looked slightly unnerved by the gesture. "We can most certainly find a place for this one," the man assured, "We will update her and fix her to our standards. Her mobility will be much superior, and will allow for the human part to have more control."

"This should be a very interesting experience," the woman added with a pleasant smile at Aiko.

"Hello! I am Aiko, at your service," the bot beamed in reply.

"Oh yes, she will do nicely," a heavyset man in a sky blue suit chuckled.

Sarek nodded and Balor straightened. "You are welcome to use our technical facilities to update her if you wish," the ambassador offered.

"Sounds like a plan," the man in the lilac suit replied, "We shall start right away, if that is all right."

Sarek nodded, and the images flashed, showing the humans in the Vulcan technical facilities, working feverishly as sparks flew everywhere. Sarek, Balor, and Dr. Skon all occasionally poked their heads in to observe, but none of the humans seemed to notice; too enthralled in their work.

Aiko was later revealed as she sat up with a bright smile and looked at her shiny new fingertips, lacking scars and the nails permanently painted pink to match her hair. She looked around dreamily before straightening. "I apologize," she announced, "I am now fully functional."

"Well Ted, at least you got her to stop introducing herself every time she wakes up," the man in the lilac suit chuckled to the portly sky-blue clad man who beamed. "She should be much more functional, now, and her human part should be content," he replied.

"She is different than our other models," the lady added, removing her visor, "We have to keep in mind that this is a sentient being."

"Yes," the man in the lilac suit agreed, and they nodded.

Aiko meanwhile had hopped off of the table on her wobbly new leg structure, and began perfecting her new, fluid way of walking. She twirled and nearly fell over, caught quickly by Ted. "Easy there," he soothed as he stood her back up.

"Well, shall we show her to the Ambassador and his team?" asked the man in the lilac suit.

"I think they would both like that," agreed the lady in the mint green tunic.

The team then was shown along with Sarek, Balor, and Dr. Skon, as well as several other Vulcan men and women. Aiko stepped forward and the Vulcans stared. She was still very small, though her facial expressions had been toned, and her legs and waist were slightly longer, human-like curves filled in, instead of bot-like sharpness. She smiled, her eyelids painted a shimmery pink, and she wore a white Comfort-Bot uniform.

The Vulcans nodded in approval and commended the humans on their work, as Aiko smiled up at all of them. The then saluted one another, and Sarek awkwardly ruffled Aiko's hair. "Live long and prosper," he stated with a subtle smile.

The humans then led Aiko away to a ship, and Aiko walked in, then turned as the entrance closed with a look of confusion? "Ambassador Sarek?" she asked, "Mr. Balor?"

"No Aiko, they have to stay on their planet. You are going to be a Comfort-Bot, and Ambassador Sarek and Mr. Balor are involved in their planet's government," Ted explained gently.

Aiko stared at the entrance as her eyes stung and tears rolled down her shimmery-painted cheeks. She touched them and looked confused by them. Several other bots that happened to be in the area glanced at Aiko, and looked disturbed by her reactions. Aiko dried her eyes quickly when she noticed the others and smiled brightly, "Hello!" she greeted. The other bots in response edged away and left the room. Aiko frowned.

"They don't understand," Ted explained as he put a friendly arm around the small bot, "They are fully computerized. Full bots cannot cry."

"I did not mean to scare them, Mr. Ted," Aiko said quietly.

"Oh, don't worry too much, Aiko, they'll come around," the robust man assured with a smile.

Scenes flashed by, showing interactions between the bots. Often times, when Aiko walked into the room, the other bots would exit quickly, leaving Aiko to sit by herself.

Spock had been quiet for a long time, and Aiko had as well. He frowned slightly, watching the other bots' rejection of their half-human colleague, though he said nothing, and Aiko was silent as well for awhile. "Their actions were not of unkindness," her voice finally assured in a quiet tone, "They did not understand and showed reactions that seemed fearful. Some feared that I contained a virus that would make them 'malfunction' as I did."

Spock nodded. "People fear what they do not understand."

"Precisely," Aiko's voice replied.

The images flashed by once again and showed brief depictions of Aiko's assignments. It had become clear early on to the humans that ran the Comfort-Bot company that Aiko, having free will, had chosen not to sleep with clients on whim. Because of this, she was often assigned to care for children, the elderly, and the sick and injured. Though as time went by Aiko learned to deaden her outer emotions, she was always shown as having a slightly sad look at the end of each assignment, especially when she had formed a bond with the client.

"You are lonely," Spock remarked suddenly.

Aiko was quiet for a moment, caught off guard by his words.

"I apologize," he added, "I did not mean it as an insult."

"No," assured Aiko's voice with a slight shake, "I was just surprised. I…have not shown my memories this extensively to another before, but Captain Kirk requested…"

Spock blinked, and then nodded, looking thoughtful. "It would seem," he responded, "That the Captain had plans to aid both of us."  
"It would seem so," agreed the bot with a sigh.

"What an illogical being…" the half-Vulcan continued, "But benevolent."

"Very," Aiko replied. She was quiet for a long moment as images flashed by, showing her holding and rocking distressed children, calming them almost immediately, and her touch seemed to have the same effect on the panicked elderly and unwell. Then images of departure were shown. Orphaned children were taken by relatives and the elderly and unwell either got better or passed on, sometimes in the arms of the bot. "I never wanted to say goodbye to any of them," she admitted quietly.

As years went by in the images, Aiko gained respect from the other bots, and slowly, they bots began to tolerate and even seek out her presence, though she never seemed as close to them as they were to one another. However, she seemed to enjoy the company of the humans that ran the company, and other humanoid beings. The images suddenly stopped, and the world around Spock became a teenage human's fantasy again. He raised an eyebrow and mentally swore that he had heard Aiko emit a sigh, and distinctly mumble something about "Ted" as the bright rose-colored world faded.

Spock opened his eyes suddenly, back in his quarters, to meet Aiko's intense black stare. She quickly looked away, trying to act as if she had only glanced at him.

"Fascinating," Spock commented, "You are half human."

"Yes," Aiko replied, seeming unsure of what she should focus her eyes on.

"And half computer," he continued.

"Yes," she responded again, glancing at him, to see that he was staring intently at her as well. She then tensed slightly, noticing for the first time since coming back to reality that they were still in one another's embrace. She blushed visibly and started to pull away, but felt Spock's injured hands gently squeeze her shoulders. He looked interested, but also exhausted. She smiled softly and squeezed him closer again, resting her cheek against his head. "You are tired, Spock. Rest. More than a day passed in the time that we viewed my memory files, and you will need it for when we wake," she ordered.

"That would be a logical solution," agreed Spock as he closed his eyes. Both half-bot and half-Vulcan seemed at unease, but neither made a move to break their embrace as the room's lights faded. Spock noted that though they had, by physical hours, been away for over a day, that none of his biological functions had resumed. Memory transfer in bots seemed very curious indeed. "When I was young," he added a moment later, causing Aiko's eyes to open in the dark, glowing down at him, "My father told to me a story about a computerized female who was so filled with dedication that she attempted to dig her way out of the side of his ship with her bare hands until she broke them. As a child, I cringed, and he looked disappointed at my empathy. But he assured that he and his team helped her in the end."

Aiko's glowing orbs blinked in the darkness, and she was silent for a moment, though her embrace tightened slightly. "He said that she was one of the more curious forms of life he had encountered," he continued, "He explained her basic functioning. It was a fascinating story."

Aiko blinked once more as she felt her face heat, and was thankful for the darkness. "It is a small Universe, as humans would say," she answered quietly after a pause, then added, "If you would like, you may examine my data port when we…" she trailed off, noticing how relaxed Spock's body had become. His breathing had also become rhythmic. She nodded to herself, and pulled the sheet and bedspread over and around him, tucking him in. The half-bot smiled in the dark, and then closed her eyes as she quietly announced "protection mode" and then began to access information files as the half-Vulcan slept peacefully in her arms.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek or any of the characters of Star Trek. I'm just some dork writing a fanfic. That said, Aiko is mine, as is Ted, Marie, and Balor (and the Vulcan doctor dude and the guy in the lilac suit, but so far, those two are kind of background characters). Not like anyone would want to steal my characters, but yeah, disclaimer. There. =3

Author's Note: Okay, so this story was originally written with a very adult part in this chapter. When I joined I thought that the mature rating was for stronger content than it was, and as this story was originally posted on a site called , it is/was adult-themed. However, I totally understand and respect the rules of this site, and edited the adult part of this chapter, to meet standards of the "M" rating. It is still adult themed, but there is no explicit sex. That said, if you would like to see the original, unedited version, there is a link in my profile to it. I attempted to post a link here, but it didn't take when I uploaded the fic. Thankfully a reviewer notified me of this! Thanks Amy! And, if you would rather see a not-so-explicit version, read on. Also, thank you all for your kind comments and emails. I really appreciate the feedback, and am enjoying reading your fics as well! This is getting to be a long author's note, so here's the chapter already. Enjoy!

Spock awakened slowly the next waking time to the lidded glow of Aiko's eyes across from his own. He watched her for a moment, keeping his body perfectly still. She was obviously in some kind of information processing mode, a blissful smile spread across her face. He shifted slightly, and her eyes snapped open, the glow fading quickly. "Good morning Spock," she greeted with a soft smile, "Captain Kirk came by earlier and brought you breakfast, but you were asleep and he did not wish to disturb you."

Spock was silent, inertly horrified that his captain had seen him in such a vulnerable manner.

"Captain Kirk understands, Spock," the half-bot continued, her dark pupils intense, "He was happy to see you at peace. He even said so."

She twitched and glowed once more as the captain's voice erupted from her chest, "I am happy to see him getting a good night's sleep for once."

Spock blushed green slightly and pulled away a little and Aiko glanced away quickly. "I apologize if I have made you uncomfortable. That was not my intent," she added, before sitting up. She stood and walked across the room, getting the food that Kirk had brought for Spock; kept warm with the ship's facilities. As she brought the tray back to Spock and handed it to him, he noted that her eyes stayed downwards.

"You did not make me uncomfortable, Aiko," he offered to what he perceived to be guilt, "So logically, there is no need to apologize."

"You are very kind, Spock," Aiko replied with a gentle smile as she sat next to him, "But I know that I am unnerving to make eye contact with. Children do not notice as often, but most clients display signs of fear or discomfort when I stare directly at them. I attempted to gain understanding about the matter from Ted, but he…did what humans label as "skirting the question". I assume that the answer was yes."

"Children are often times more logical than adults," responded Spock pausing before taking a bite of a strange-looking fruit.

"Sometimes they are," agreed the half-bot, as she reached to lightly touch his free hand. She hesitated, before resting her entire hand on his. "But on the other extreme, they can be judgmental and unkind," she added quietly. Spock was quiet as he continued to eat his breakfast, and was probably grateful that he had something to do that required use of his mouth other than talk.

"Captain Kirk is a good, nonjudgmental human," Aiko continued after a pause, realizing that she had possibly again disturbed her client, "But he is completely uninterested in the incredible life forms of his own planet! I cannot imagine how one could not find it astounding, and it's a trend I have noticed in most humans." She touched her chin with her hand and squinted slightly, looking perplexed.

"Is that what you were processing earlier?" asked Spock, "Earth life, that is."

Aiko smiled softly feeling her face heat slightly, "Yes," she replied, "Though I was unaware that

you had witnessed it. Clients who have caught me in information mode have reported to me that

I carry a humorous facial expression in mode."

"I did not notice," Spock replied with a sincere look, "If I may ask, what about Earth life did you

find so fascinating?"

Aiko paused to smile slightly, relieved, before replying, "Did you know that a simple goldfish is

only animal on the entire planet of Earth that can see infrared and ultraviolet rays with their

naked eyes?"

"I actually did read that awhile back," Spock replied with a thoughtful look, "I do wonder

though, for what purpose do the goldfish have such vision?"

"That's just the thing," the half-bot answered with an interested look, "Goldfish are extremely

simple forms of life on the planet Earth, and are not even known to be a decent food source like many other fish there. They are widely kept as pets, and certain breeds are bred to be very fancy-looking and are kept for vanity purposes apparently. Yet they have this trait that is completely unknown to any other creature on the planet." She pursed her lips.

"Fascinating, indeed," the half-Vulcan agreed as he finished his breakfast, "But it seems illogical."

"Illogical," Aiko echoed, "Yes. It does not compute. I shall have to further research this topic." She nodded seriously.

"You…seem to thoroughly enjoy accessing new information files," Spock deducted after a moment.

"Yes," Aiko answered with a soft smile, "I find the experience to be exhilarating. I wish that I could share it with you. Do you have a data port?" She gave a quirky smile.

Spock made a very soft noise that sounded remotely like a chuckle and Aiko reached to softly touch his hand once more, her hand warm and smooth against his.

"I understand your inner confusion, Spock," she said quietly after several moments passed. The half-Vulcan glanced over at her, though she kept her own eyes away, "I am sorry that your confusion pains you so."

"Does yours, Aiko?" Spock asked in the same quiet tone.

"It just…confuses me," she clarified with a shrug, "I feel that it would pain me, if not for the fact that I know nothing of my human part except for what gradually emerges." She frowned slightly, before adding, "Sometimes I feel a need to know it. I do not know that mine needs emotional release as much as it needs closeness to another. But I am the only one of my breed."

Spock was quiet, though he leaned closer to her and tried to make eye contact. She looked away quickly. "I apologize, Spock, I was doing an activity that humans know as "waffling" or "babbling" or "going on and on". There are a variety of terms to describe the action, none of which seem to have anything to do with the act itself." She frowned thoughtfully and Spock raised an eyebrow. "I did not mind, Aiko," he assured after a brief pause, causing her to offer a soft smile in return.

"Speaking of inner confusion," the half-bot added after another pause, "Are you prepared for the next part of this?"

"I will be," Spock answered, as he got up from the bed and headed into the restroom of the quarters. Aiko heard the sink running moments later and assumed that he had hygienic functions to take care of. She waited patiently on the edge of the bed until he came back. Soon, the half-Vulcan reemerged, his face and hair slightly damp.

"Are you certain that you want more discipline?" she asked as she stood, "And that you would not wish for something else to comfort you?"

"Yes," he repeated, and she nodded once, acknowledging it.

"Will you allow for me to hold and comfort you afterwards?" she asked, cocking her head slightly.

"It will be a necessity," the half-Vulcan replied as he closed his eyes, mentally preparing himself and Aiko straightened.

"Remove your sleeping clothes, Spock, and lie face down on your sleeping area. You may keep your underwear on," she ordered as she picked up her whip from the top of her backpack.

"Thank you," Spock replied as he pulled his top off, revealing a slim and handsome chest, and stepped out of his pajama pants. Aiko flushed a slightly purple tint and Spock looked at her curiously as he laid down obediently.

"Are you all right, Aiko? You are currently a shade that most humans would find to be abnormal," he noted with a tinge of concern in his look.

The half-bot blinked in reply and brought her hand to her face. She then glanced at the mirror that happened to be next to her and slumped, nearly showing human frustration. "Oh, Ted…" she sighed. She straightened and shook her head slightly. "I apologize, Spock. I will be sure to have the error corrected the next time that I am updated. Thank you for reporting it."

"You speak of Ted often. Is he your main programmer?" asked Spock curiously.

"Yes," Aiko nodded, "He and his wife, Dr. Marie Tudd, are primarily in charge of my updates and programming. Marie monitors my physical health and cares for my human parts, while Ted fixes any mechanical errors and updates my information drives." She paused, before adding, "Please do not mistake my words. They do a near perfect job, but Ted is…well, he has a disorder known as colorblindness in humans, which involves the human eye developing without the normal amount of cones, therefore affecting the vision of color. It is a trait that is more common in men than women, but is possible in either gender, though rare, and occurs before birth. The blinding pink hues that you witnessed when I shared my memory drives was meant to mimic an Earth-like sunset, but due to the effects of colorblindness, a different outcome was met."

"Fascinating," Spock replied with a nod, as he started to fold his arms under his chest, but felt Aiko's hand catch his wrist, and guide it to the bedpost. He tensed, but complied, and she smiled down at him as she bound his wrist to the bedpost, and leaned over to do the same with his other wrist.

"If you are focusing on holding still," she explained as she bound his ankles together and tied them to the base of the bed, "You will be unable to fully release. These are extremely strong bonds."

"Thank you, Aiko," Spock answered, slightly muffled, and he squirmed slightly, testing the bonds. The half-bot smiled sadly, stroking the side of his bound leg for a moment as the half-Vulcan prepared himself for what was about to happen. She then sat next to him on the bed, gripping the whip tightly.

"Are you ready, Spock?" she asked.

"Yes, Aiko," he replied calmly.

She nodded and rested her free hand on the back of his head, extracting memories. Spock froze as he felt childhood terrors come back, full force. He heard the whip crack before he felt the sharp, stinging sensation across the skin of his shoulders, followed by a deep burning. Aiko cringed as she whipped him across his upper back repeatedly, monitoring his reactions. She had not chosen the memories or emotions to extract; she had only picked the most prominent at the moment. Spock struggled with his human side, which begged to be let out. As a child, he had taken a vow to follow the ways of the Vulcan race. He experienced a rush of panic and guilt and began to tremble, physically twitching slightly each time the whip cut into his skin.

"It was unfair to make you choose one or the other," Aiko's voice came suddenly, "You are both, Spock. You will always be both. We cannot choose what we are. We just are."

Shuddering, Spock noticed his vision blurring once more and shook his head. "I am a Vulcan," he said.

"You are also human. And it is Captain Kirk's orders to deal with the human side," Aiko responded as she brought the whip down roughly, drawing greenish blood. Spock squirmed slightly from the physical and mental pain. He felt shame and guilt of being unable to control his emotions at different points throughout his life, including the current time. Still, as Aiko's lifelike hand stroked his hair, he felt that it was safe to give in. The whip cracked across his mid and lower back several times before Spock shuddered and began to weep quietly into his pillow.

"Good, darling," soothed Aiko as she beat his shoulders, leaving raised green criss-crosses on his skin.

"I…I am a disappointment…" Spock said suddenly in a quiet tone. His shoulders shook violently before his body was wracked with muffled sobs.

Aiko blinked, and halted the whipping, her touch gentle on his injured back. "You do not disappoint me, Spock," she assured, "And I do not believe that you disappoint Captain Kirk." She reached to carefully embrace him from behind.

"Please…do not stop…" Spock replied with a hiss of pain.

"Are you certain?" the half-bot questioned, "I could stop now and comfort you if you prefer."

"No," he assured, squirming slightly as her embrace tightened, "I need this."

"Your human side, Spock?" she asked curiously as she straightened.

Spock exhaled shakily, taking a moment to gather himself. "The Vulcan side as well," he answered finally. The half-bot stared down at him for a moment, her expression vaguely sad. She frowned, and without warning, loosened and removed the restraints on his wrists.

"Aiko, please…" Spock muffled, sounding slightly desperate.

"I will continue to beat you, Spock," the half-bot quietly assured as she pushed her lower body under his chest and torso, causing him to squirm in an attempt to reposition himself. He looked extremely confused, and Aiko stared down at him, her face unreadable. She wrapped her free arm around his shoulders comfortingly. His head rested on her stomach, Spock slowly wrapped his arms around her waist, understanding. She did not want to hurt him, but she would do what she had to do with compassion.

The whip cracked across the back of Spock's calves, and his grip around Aiko's waist tightened, causing her pupils to dilate heavily. She flicked the whip across the sensitive backs of his knees as her free hand cradled his head, activating memories once more. Spock choked softly against her stomach but even unbound, made no attempt to even struggle. She stroked his smooth hair gently as he shuddered, allowing himself to cling to her in his torment.

The lashes of the whip traveled down the backs of Spock's calves and bound ankles, covering them in coppery-green lines before the half-Vulcan began to cry out against Aiko's trembling body. She stopped suddenly and shakily dropped the whip before unbinding Spock's ankles and taking him into her arms fully, her embrace gentle as he sobbed hard, clutching his head for a moment before wrapping his arms around her waist once more. The human half of him simply demanded closeness at this time, and though the Vulcan side was logical and strong, the human side had a stronger will than Spock ever gave it credit for.

"Too much?" Aiko asked softly, her touch gentle but still painful on Spock's welted back. He shook his head, his body quivering through quiet sobs. She nodded and continued to stroke him softly, shaking as well. She wanted desperately to say something to make it better, but could not think of a thing to say that would remedy his pain.

Instead, she decided to allow her own human side a bit of freedom as well. She pushed back his hair fringe and kissed his forehead tenderly, before resting her chin on his head. He shook in reply, his grip on her tightening as he became quiet. Aiko blinked and watched the man twitch and struggle as his Vulcan side, horrified by this display of emotion, attempted to take over to cope with the pain. She paused for a moment, unsure of what to do. She swallowed nervously, then quickly tilted his chin upwards and kissed him deeply; cradling his face in her hands for a moment, before they traveled down and held his bandaged hands gently. Spock gasped into the kiss and froze for a pause, his human side forcing full control, and his Vulcan side submitting to the intimacy of their sensitive fingertips touching.

The kiss broke slowly and their eyes met; Spock's surprised and Aiko's completely taken up by her black pupils. Spock gazed at Aiko as she gently dabbed his tears with the hem of her uniform. She was a shade of purple unknown to the eyes of man, Spock noted, and suspected that he was the same sort of green. The half-bot shivered slightly as waves of sensation traveled from her lips throughout her body, but she looked away, unsure of her actions. She looked back at Spock after a pause, and looked about to apologize, to which Spock blocked her with a gentle kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist. Aiko froze in alarm, before wrapping her arms around his back carefully; returning the kiss with uncertainty that quickly gave way to passion. She felt a tug at her uniform, and felt his lips vibrate against hers in a pained, desperate moan as his injured hands attempted to remove her uniform.

The half-bot moved quickly to unzip and slide out of her uniform, her petite frame exposed to be covered in smooth, hairless skin. Spock pulled at his bandages, removing the ones around his hands, revealing deeply welted, but no longer cut palms and fingers. Aiko noted that Vulcans must have more rapid healing time than humans, and reminded herself to add it to her information file on Vulcans at a later time. His bare fingers trailed down the gentle curves of her body as her own palms caressed his strong chest.

Suddenly, Spock pulled back. "No, this is improper, Forgive me, I cannot make you-" the Vulcan side said out loud, but was cut off with a deep kiss from Aiko as she pulled him back on top of her, her sensitive fingers entwined with his.

"I apologize, Aiko, the human in me needs this," he whispered as he pressed against her.

"I need intimacy too, Spock," she whispered back stroking his palms assuringly, her eyes meeting his, before their lips met again, their tongues shyly touching before entwining. The half-Vulcan smiled slightly into the kiss, getting an idea.

Spock paused and reached to touch Aiko's temples with the tips of his fingers, then trailed them to the back of her head, cradling it. Aiko had time to cock her head in question, before she felt her mind meld with Spock's once more. Suddenly feelings of bliss filled her and she gasped; her black eyes wide before she smiled and touched the back of Spock's head as well, as she concentrated on also stimulating blissful feelings in him. He froze, unused to the feelings, but gripped Aiko tightly to him as they both hit inner ecstasy. They held each other silently for a few moments, both quivering as they caught their breaths.

"I…have not felt this way before," Aiko finally stated.

"Nor have I," Spock replied, his face calm once more. His eyes, Aiko noted, looked different though; less filled with sorrow. Simultaneous to her observation of him, Spock noted that Aiko too, looked different. Her expressions seemed less hollow and more real, somehow. She smiled up at him; a true smile, not to be confused with the default "bottish" greeting smile, but her eyebrows furrowed in concern as she touched his shoulder; still sticky with blood. Spock winced, surprising himself, and looked away in shame. He started to open his mouth to apologize, but was interrupted by Aiko, who kissed him tenderly on the lips.

"You require bathing," the half-bot said matter-of-factly, before adding, "And this time, I shall assist you."

Spock was silent for a moment, feeling his face burn emerald once more. He then nodded with a very subtle smile towards her. "It would seem the logical alternative in my current physical state," he concluded as he pulled himself up to stand, closing his eyes to hide the agony that went through him as he did so. Almost as soon as he stood, Aiko was at his side, her arm wrapped around his waist as she helped him to walk. Spock looked down at her in discomfort, but did not push her away.

"I am quite strong," the half-bot assured the half-Vulcan, "Stronger than I appear. Bots have much stronger skeletal structures than biological beings."

"Fascinating," Spock replied with a slight wince. Gradually, he leaned on her a little and Aiko smiled faintly as she led him to the shower.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's note: Finally updated, sorry for the wait. I'm taking Summer classes, trying to get my master's sooner, and I kinda got overwhelmed for a bit, there. I'm going to hopefully finish this story in about two more chapters, before starting the sequel. If you have any ideas for this story, please let me know in a review, email, PM, whatever. I'd really appreciate it. Speaking of, thank you, everyone who has read, commented, faved, emailed me, and encouraged me to keep writing this. Y'all are awesome. One last note, this has been edited to be less adult, so that it may exist on . The original, unedited version is on , and there is a link to it in my profile if anyone would prefer that. If not, keep reading!

After helping Spock into the shower stall, Aiko adjusted the water to a comfortable temperature, testing it occasionally with her wrist, before directing the injured half-Vulcan under it. He hissed in pain as the water ran over his open lashes, and felt his eyes sting behind closed lids as Aiko tenderly stroked his hands and face to sooth him. Shakily, he knelt and wrapped his arms around her waist, the human side of him apparently still in control. She carefully returned the embrace and continued her stroking movements over his body, trying hard not to cause excessive pain as she did so.

At first, Spock thought that she was only trying to sooth him, but opened his eyes as he felt his skin become slippery in places, as a familiar scent filled the moist air. Aiko twitched and quickly smiled down at him, her eyes glowing from partial cleaning mode, and Spock understood; she was using the soap that was produced from her pores during cleaning mode to clean him in gentle, stroking motions, instead of using an abrasive sponge or cloth. He closed his eyes once more and nuzzled his face against her stomach as his body calmed. Listening intently, he could hear the whirring of mechanics under her soft skin, and could feel an increase of heartbeat in her wrists. He pulled back suddenly with a look of confusion and then concern.

"Is something wrong, Spock?" Aiko asked, mimicking his confused and concerned expression as she reached to touch his head, at first concerned that she had hurt him. He did not pull away from her touch this time, and instead reached to hold her hand in his.

"You are exhibiting signs of fear," Spock replied, looking up at her, "Why?"

Aiko paused and glanced at the falling shower water, and back at Spock, her face neutral. "There are certain things that this body seems to react to. Ted believes it to have something to do with the events in the life of the human whose DNA composure I was made from. Unfortunately, I do not hold her memories thus far, or else I would share them with you to better explain. It seems…illogical, as you would say, to feel fear at the sight of a shower."

"Indeed," Spock agreed, before adding, "It would seem illogical without the rest of the facts."

The half-bot nodded in agreement, and pulled the half-Vulcan close to her once more, her body trembling slightly as his did, though for different reasons. With a slight smile, Spock held her back again, squeezing slightly, as she seemed to appreciate this gesture; her heartbeat notably slowed.

"I would not let harm to come to you while I was present," Spock added quietly, trailing his fingertips down her back, causing her to gasp sharply from the sensation. Her arms wrapped tightly around him, pressing his face against her chest, and noticed for the first time, a blinking blue light between her lower throat and upper chest, usually covered by her uniform. Spock raised an eyebrow, but Aiko shifted and looked away.

"I know," she replied. She paused for another long moment before adding, "Of all of my clients, it will be hardest to say goodbye to you."

"I do not wish to say goodbye to you," Spock said, his hands entwining with hers.

"But I cannot stay," answered Aiko, "You are first officer of the starship, Enterprise. I am a comfort-bot." She turned to look back at him, her eyes shining and humanely sad.

"All officers have mandatory leave," Spock reminded, and Aiko smiled down at him.

"You would wish to spend your leaves with me?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," he answered without hesitation, his eyes meeting hers.

Aiko stared neutrally down at Spock for a moment, before her face broke into a smile, and she blinked back tears, her cheeks flushing. She slid to her knees, where Spock caught her with a kiss that she melted into. Her small hands stroked over Spock's high cheekbones, before caressing his ears, causing him to gasp into the kiss. His own hands traveled down her sides, and Aiko broke from the kiss and moaned softly towards the shower's ceiling. The half-Vulcan studied her curiously as he continued to stroke her sides, his gentle touch occasionally sweeping over her stomach. She twitched and clung to him as she experienced waves of pleasurable skin sensation, causing him to wince softly, though he made no attempt to loosen her grip.

Aiko panted shakily, her embrace loosening as her senses returned to normal, until her arms dropped limply to her sides. Spock cupped her chin in one graceful hand and looked into her eyes, discovering them to be fully filled with pupil. She smiled dreamily up at him in a hormone-induced daze, and Spock smiled faintly as he ran his fingers through her shiny waterproof hair.

"Spock?" she asked after a few moments.

"Yes, Aiko?" he answered.

"I believe I am now cured of my fear of showers," she replied as she straightened, before adding, "And I am now fully functional."

"Good to hear," Spock replied, raising an eyebrow as he watched her move to turn off the shower and reach for a towel. She wrapped the towel around him, gently dabbing his skin dry. Spock locked his jaw, but held completely still until she motioned for him to stand.

"I hurt you earlier when I held you," Aiko said suddenly, her eyes sad, "I am sorry. You did not ask me to, and I did not mean to."

Spock was quiet a moment; he had hoped that she had not noticed his response. "I am fine, Aiko," he assured, "Do not worry about hurting me."

"I am not programmed to bring pain without specific order, unless in defense of myself or another," she explained, her thin eyebrows tensing for the first time since Spock had known her.

Spock looked at her for a moment, pondering, before deciding how to answer. "If I had disliked what you were doing, I would have asked you to stop, Aiko. Those were your direct orders to me."

She looked thoughtful for a moment and nodded, realizing that logic had won this round. Carefully, she embraced Spock one more time, before turning to leave the restroom area, allowing Spock some private time. He watched her leave and cocked his eyebrow, slightly bewildered by all that had just taken place.

"Fascinating, indeed," he said to himself.

Aiko made her way to the bed, and began to remove the bedding and uniforms, wrapping them all up on the fitted bottom sheets before dropping it all into the laundry chute. She then reached into her backpack and pulled out a fresh uniform and a piece of gum wrapped in a brightly colored wrapper. She stepped into her uniform as she fiddled with the wrapper, and popped the pink confection into her mouth as she searched for sheets. She replaced the sheets, and with a content look, began to straighten and dust anything she could find in room, though being Spock's quarters, there was very little that needed to be fixed.

Still, it made her feel useful, which made her feel good. She started to hum to herself, but heard the door to the quarter's restroom open and stopped quickly, straightening and turning to face Spock, hoping that he had not heard. She smiled bottishly by instinct, and Spock raised an eyebrow in response, causing her look to soften as she drifted over to him. Spock stood somewhat awkwardly, wearing a towel around his waist. Aiko cocked her head slightly at the logic, but she understood, being a usually modest being as well. She led him over to the bed and guided him to lie face-down while she gathered her first aid kit. Spock turned his head to watch her as she dabbed his wounds with antiseptic. He twitched occasionally from the stinging, but stared in the direction of her data port with an intrigued look, then glanced around at the many small, flashing lights on different parts of her body and uniform. Aiko noticed his expression and held him loosely as she bandaged his back and legs, but said nothing and seemed to hide under her hair a little.

"I have been curious, Aiko," Spock began, as he shifted into a slightly curled position on his side as she finished bandaging him, and helped him into fresh night clothes, "About a light that is on your throat. You seem to have many blinking lights, but assumed them to be indicators of proper functioning. However, the one on your throat seems different from the others."

At the mention of it, Aiko's hand traveled to, and hovered above the light, which was hidden by her uniform. She paused for a moment, before pulling the zipper down to her mid-chest, exposing the light.

"This light?" she asked, and Spock noted that the light blinked more brightly with each syllable of her speech. He nodded, and she lay down next to him, so that he had a closer view of the spot.

"As I am sure that you have noticed, my voice is somewhat computerized in sound, compared to the voice of a full-carbon female," she continued, her large eyes forced neutral as she explained, "According to those who have read the notes of the late Dr. Edward Geralds, the vocal cords of the human body used in the process of creating me were unusable. Therefore, I, like many comfort-bots, have fully electronic vocal functions."

"You were not permitted to read the notes of your own creation?" Spock asked, looking somehow disturbed by this.

"I chose not to," Aiko replied quietly, glancing away, "I asked Ted to interpret, and he did."

"I do not understand," Spock stated, with a near-human look of confusion.

Aiko glanced at Spock, and then away again. "It is difficult to explain what it means to me, to read the history of the human body used to create me," she explained slowly, "I do not contain any memory files in either side of my brain, of the life of that human. I feel I have already intruded on her privacy enough, having this body." She kept her gaze away, quietly afraid how Spock would react to this revelation.

"If you have half of the same brain as this human, then surely you are, in some part of you, still her," he said, reaching to touch her hand.

"Or am I a computer?" she asked, looking back at him with a wistful smile, "Is my personality that of the human before me, or is it all in my programming? I may be a programmed human-like machine with stolen human body parts. The history of the human before her end I unknown, so it is uncertain."

Spock was quiet for a moment, but slowly pulled Aiko closer to him, causing her pose to loosen slightly as she struggled, unsure of whether to stay stoic, or let him hold her. He understood, and thought for a moment before he replied. It was this trait, possibly, that led him to always seem to know the appropriate verbal response.

"You are a child of the universe, Aiko. No less than the trees and the stars," he said quietly into her ear, "You have a right to be here."

She smiled up at him in reply and wrapped her arms around him, "So do you, Spock. Remember that," she added after a moment, squeezing his hand gently, before finally relaxing into the embrace as her internal humming slowed. "It does not really matter what either of us are," she added as she gazed up at Spock, "We are here as we are, regardless."

"Affirmative," replied Spock, as he subtly glanced at a zipper located on the lower back of her uniform, and raised his eyebrow at what appeared to be blinking lights, shining through. Aiko noticed the look, and smiled at his curiosity.

"I had almost forgotten about my promise to show you my data port. Would you like to see?" she asked.

"I would," Spock replied, and leaned forward as Aiko unzipped the zipper, revealing a mass of blinking lights and what appeared, indeed, to be a data port, located in the center of the small of her back. Spock reached to touch it lightly with the tip of his pointer finger, causing Aiko to jump slightly and gasp; the sensation strange and unlike that in most of her skin. He pulled his hand away quickly and raised an eyebrow, studying her, but felt a wave of exhaustion come over him.

Aiko smiled softly and rolled over to cup Spock's face in her palm as she nuzzled against him, sliding under him so that he laid face down, her chest serving as a pillow.

"You are tired," she stated.

"Though I have not been awake long," he replied.

"But you have accomplished much," she smiled.

He paused. "Most logical," he agreed, wincing softly as she pulled the covers around them.

Aiko paused as well as the room lights dimmed. "I am proud of you, Spock," she said quietly in the dark. He did not reply immediately, but his embrace tightened around her waist, and she rested her hand on the back of his head, stimulating senses of peace and safety in his mind.

"Thank you, Aiko," he murmured as he drifted off to sleep. She smiled in reply and shakily tried to start information mode, before her body won over and she slipped into sleep mode, clinging to her lover, a content expression on her sleeping face.

A few moments after they had fallen asleep, there came a signal at the door, though neither of them stirred. After a few moments, the door slid open quietly, and Captain Kirk peeked in, Dr. McCoy's head poking in after his, scanning the room.

"I swear, Bones, I think all he's done is sleep," Kirk whispered as he tip-toed in.

"Well, at least that's something," McCoy commented, following, "I'll just leave the stuff on his desk over there."

"Good idea. I'll just leave the note there, t-"Kirk began to reply before he stumbled over something in the dark and nearly fell over, causing Aiko to sit up suddenly, her eyes glowing brightly through her eyelids as she switched into protection mode in her sleep.

"Dammit, Jim!" McCoy quietly exclaimed, "Now look what you've done!" He pointed in Aiko's direction.

Kirk straightened and quickly turned to look at her, as he set the note on the desk, and chuckled quietly.

"That's just some defense mode of hers or something," he assured quietly, "I know, because she was awake when I came in earlier, and if she's awake, she will greet you. It's in her programming."

He bent down to inspect what he had tripped over. It was unlike Spock to leave things sprawled out on the floor. Raising both eyebrows, Kirk held up a short whip, still slightly green, which had been tossed aside and forgotten about in the heat of the moment. McCoy turned and looked at the whip, his eyes widening, and Aiko slumped back over in the background, causing the sleeping Spock to make a soft snoring noise. The two men stared at each other, silent for a moment.

"Who knew the pointed-eared Vulcan was such a sexual deviant?" McCoy finally snickered with a bemused look.

Kirk glanced over in Spock's direction with a look of concern, before setting the whip down on the desk. "He wanted me to punish him, Bones," he sighed.

"I'd say he wanted _her_ to punish him, more," the doctor retorted as he pulled several vials from his medicine kit.

The captain shook his head slowly, staring over at his sleeping friend for a moment, before looking back at McCoy. "Bones, do you think he's all right?" he asked quietly, before gesturing at the whip, "Is that blood?"

McCoy picked up the whip to examine it more closely and sighed, before searching through his kit again.

"What is it?" Kirk asked.

"I'm leaving him some extra vitamins," McCoy explained, "So he doesn't lose all the nutrients in his blood and pass out or something." Shaking his head, he grumbled and placed several more vials on the desk.

"I just don't understand what's going through his head, Bones," Kirk sighed.

"Jim," McCoy replied, turning to his friend, "I'm just an old country doctor, not a Vulcan behavioral specialist. Now let's get out of here before we actually _do_ wake them up." His deep blue eyes scanned the dark room, before he added, "Or break our necks tripping over who-knows-what."

Kirk nodded and made his way back to the door, followed closely by McCoy. Before leaving, he looked back again at the large lump in the bed that was Spock and Aiko.

"I hope they're okay," he said.

"They're more than that, by the looks of it. I mean Jim, look at where his _head_ is," McCoy chuckled in reply, "Now, come on."

Kirk smiled slightly and nodded as they turned to leave, but decided that he would check again on them in a few hours.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: I apologize for the long pause between updates. Some irl stuff happened and we ended up homeless for awhile, but everything is fine now. I will try to finish this fic up in the next update or so. I edited out some of the more explicit stuff, and I'm not overly happy with the choppiness of the edit, but that's what happens when you have to take a full page out of the middle of the story to appease site rules. That said, please consider reading the unedited version of this on (the link is in my profile). Thanks for reading, and thank you especially to those who have commented or sent feedback in emails.

The door signaled suddenly, drawing Spock and Aiko's attentions away from their game of chess. They both moved to stand, but Aiko was faster than the injured half-Vulcan and answered the door as he shakily straightened.

"Hello, Captain Kirk," Aiko greeted, as the door opened, "I am sorry that we were asleep when you came by earlier."

"Sleep is important, Aiko," Kirk replied as he entered the room. He smiled warmly at Spock, who glanced away.

"Captain," Spock greeted; his posture stiff.

"Mr. Spock," Kirk sighed, his tone gentle. He paused a moment, noticing Spock's awkwardness, and quietly cursed himself for leaving the whip neatly folded next to the letter and vitamins that he and McCoy had left the night before.

Spock attempted to back up, and nearly stumbled into Aiko, who seemed to be cluelessly standing in the way of his escape route. She gave a bottish smile and made no attempt to move.

"Did I interrupt a game of chess?" Kirk asked suddenly, changing the subject.

"We were at a stale mate, I believe," Spock answered, relaxing slightly.

"That doesn't happen very often with you," Kirk commented, glancing at Aiko, "I take it you two are getting along?"

Both of the hybrids blushed suddenly in response to this. "Yes, Captain Kirk," Aiko finally answered, "Thank you." Spock nodded slightly.

Kirk shifted, and stepped backwards into a chair. He had not noticed the half-bot pull up a chair.

"Please, join us, Captain Kirk," Aiko offered.

"Oh, I was just checking in on Spock," Kirk responded, but noticed Spock's slightly saddened look and Aiko's intense gaze. "But I could stay a bit, I suppose," he continued as he took a seat.

Spock slowly lowered himself into his heavily-padded chair, courtesy of Aiko and numerous cushions, concentrating hard not to wince in front of Kirk. Aiko stood, ready to aid him, but kept her distance for the sake of his pride, and sat quickly once Spock had as well. Kirk watched this display with interest.

Aiko smiled over at Kirk. "It has been many years since we last met, Captain Kirk. How have you been?" she asked.

"Mostly good, Aiko," he smiled back, "You look…exactly the same."

"I am a bot, Captain Kirk, I do not change in appearance with age," she answered, and smiled softly, "You have grown up."

"When did you two meet, if I might ask?" Spock asked, looking curious.

"It was back during my first real exploration mission. I was an ensign, sent with a crew to meet with the planet's ambassador to discuss progress. But when we got there, it was a war zone," Kirk described, "The people were being enslaved by invading Klingons. It was terrible. They were a pacifist humanoid species with no weapons or military. We really didn't know what was happening when we got there." Kirk paused for a long moment before continuing, "My unit split up to survey the situation, but…I got lost."

"You…became lost, Captain?" Spock asked, and Aiko cocked her head.

"It was my first mission, Spock," Kirk explained, "I was seventeen. No one was prepared for what we found. I got turned around and was trying to find others in my unit, and almost walked right into a circle of Klingons. I would have been captured on the spot if Aiko hadn't grabbed me."

Spock glanced from Kirk to Aiko curiously; comfort-bots were not meant for war zones.

"I was on an assignment, when the Klingons invaded. I had just arrived and was in the process of locating my clients when…" she trailed off, searching for a description.

"When all hell broke loose," Kirk offered and half-bot nodded.

"Why did you stay?" questioned Spock, "It seems illogical for you to be there, unarmed."

Aiko frowned slightly, but forced her expression neutral, before locking eyes with her lover. "They had the children I was sent to care for and protect," she said quietly, "I was fulfilling my programming." Her skin flushed slightly purple and she looked away nervously.

Kirk sighed, causing Spock and Aiko to look at him oddly.

"Oh, would you both stop giving me that look and chill out?" he suddenly asked. They were both silent in response to his outburst, though Spock shifted slightly in physical discomfort. Kirk sighed again and turned to his first officer.

"Spock…" he started, and paused as the half-Vulcan raised a perplexed eyebrow highly, "Look, Spock. You're half human. I know that. You know that. Everybody knows that. You don't have to be so stoic."

"It is in my nature, Captain," Spock calmly defended.

"It truly is in his nature, Captain Kirk," Aiko supported, "But I find your acceptance of his human side to be agreeable."

"And you," Kirk turned to Aiko, "Cut the bot act, I know what you are, and I have known from the beginning. Why do you think I requested you for Spock?"

Aiko's black eyes widened in bewilderment, and Kirk continued, "Most bots are not self aware, and do nothing that hasn't been directly programmed into them. A bot would not have pulled me back from the Klingons. A bot wouldn't have been spying on the Klingons in the first place."

The half-bot closed her eyes and was quiet for a moment, and then shrugged. "Okay, you got me," she said, "I am a biomechanical bot in body, but I have a human consciousness." She opened her eyes to see Spock's surprised and subtly empathetic expression.

"She is a comfort-bot, Captain-" Spock started, but was cut off by Aiko.

"I have lived for over sixty years. Occasionally someone figures it out. It's not the end of the world, darling, but I appreciate the backup," she continued, then met Spock's gaze and added, "But it is a true rarity when I openly volunteer this fact to another."

"It shouldn't have to be like this," Kirk said suddenly, "Being a half…being a hybrid, or a mixture of species shouldn't be something to be ashamed of."

"No, it shouldn't be," Aiko agreed, her eyes still locked. Spock kept his gaze as well, and Kirk really wished that one of them would blink.

"Did you find the children?" Spock asked suddenly, refocusing the conversation to a less emotionally provoking point.

Aiko nodded, and Kirk spread his hands, his eyes looking far-away; his typical story-telling stance. "This one," he continued, with a quick point to the half-bot, "Had been following around the Klingons, spying on them, and saw where they were taking people. There were a lot of Klingons guarding the entrance though, so she had been trying to think of something when I came marching by. We wandered around and found some of my unit. One of the guys had found what he figured was the ventilation system of the big, underground building that they had the hostages in, but everyone in our unit was male and we were all too big to fit…" he trailed off, and gestured at Aiko, "But she was small enough and there was no stopping her or talking her out of it, so we armed her with a phaser and sent her in. She went in and reported details of the situation back to us, and we relayed it to Starfleet, while they sent backup."

Aiko blushed. "You try to give me the credit, Captain Kirk, but I would have not survived it without your support," she clarified, and then looked over at Spock, before sighing softly. "The truth is I was scared. It was a tight fit and I thought I was trapped at one point. I had never been in combat before; I'm not meant for it. I would freeze up in fear, but Captain Kirk talked me out of it each time through the communicator and got me to think straight again. It's because of his human empathy and compassion that all those people were saved."

Kirk shook his head and chuckled at her reaction. "When Starfleet got there, the Klingons realized that they were far outnumbered and took off. By the time that my unit left, Starfleet was in the process of setting up a defense system for the civilizations there."

Spock nodded; it made sense now, as to why the captain had been sensitive about Spock's heritage.

"I owe my life and the safety of my clients to Captain Kirk," Aiko stated, "So, when he contacted me all these years later with a request to help a good friend of his, I arrived as soon as I could be transported. It was perfect timing; I had just finished a long assignment."

Spock nodded again quietly, and Aiko sensed that he might want to be alone with Kirk. She stood and refrained from giving a blank, bot-like smile.

"I believe we would all enjoy some tea," Aiko suggested, "I will go make some."

"Thank you, Aiko," Spock responded, and Kirk echoed the same as she exited.

Spock shifted stiffly, and looked away when he noticed Kirk's stare of concern once more. Kirk placed a hand on Spock's shoulder, but raised it, feeling his first officer's muscles twitch painfully.

"Spock, I sent her for a reason," Kirk said gently, "As long as whatever you are doing is helping you, you should keep doing it."

Spock looked at him and nodded seriously. "Thank you, Jim."

Kirk smiled. "I'm glad you two hit it off."

"She is…interesting," Spock stated with a neutral expression, and Kirk chuckled, knowing that, that was probably the most he was going to get from the half-Vulcan.

"I'm also glad that it's helping…" the captain added, his look saddening, "But I am sorry that it hurts." He reached to tenderly stroke Spock's cheekbone.

Spock felt his face burn, and looked away, feeling awkward, though he appreciated Kirk's kindness and lightly held his hand. Less than a moment later, Aiko returned with the tea, smiling pleasantly as she poured. Spock inwardly sighed in relief, and Kirk watched in horror as Aiko dropped and stirred a piece of gum into her tea. Spock also blinked and raised an eyebrow.

"My body's essential nutrients are in this gum," she offered as an explanation, "My main programmer made candy for a living before he got involved with comfort bots. He incorporated what he knew."

"Fascinating," Spock remarked.

Kirk opened his mouth to respond as well, but a voice suddenly erupted from his belt.

"Captain?"

"Yes, Chekov, what is it?" Kirk answered into his communicator.

"We were wondering if you needed others sent down to help," the young man's voice answered, "You were gone awhile. We were worried, sir."

"Oh, right, yes," Kirk chuckled into the communicator assuringly, "Everything's fine down here. I'm coming right up."

"Aye-aye, Captain!"

Kirk turned off his communicator and stood, grinning sheepishly. "I might have told them that I was inspecting some of the ventilation systems."

Aiko allowed an amused smile. "It was nice seeing you again, Captain Kirk," she said.

"Yes, you as well, Aiko," Kirk beamed, then nodded towards his first officer, "Spock." Without hesitation, he exited, heading quickly for the bridge.

Spock was quiet, and stared into his tea for a long moment, before Aiko's voice caught his attention.

"Did your conversation with Captain Kirk go well?" she asked.

"Yes," Spock answered, then caught her expectant gaze, and added, "He instructed us to continue what we are doing." He shifted sorely, and the half-bot scanned him thoughtfully.

"Your body is injured in many places," she mused, drifting over to him, "But I could paddle you again." She smoothed his hair affectionately.

"I think I would like that, Aiko," the half-Vulcan answered.

He leaned mildly into her touch. She softly kissed the top of his head, and helped him to the bed, flopping him face down over a pillow. He blushed deeply, and pushed his pajama pants down to his knees. She turned, retrieving the paddle, and smiled sadly at his willingness to endure pain.

"Good darling," she condoled, wrapping her arm around him. She paused, feeling his back quiver slightly under her.

"The human part of me seems to be asserting itself," Spock stated quietly, looking away.

"That is a good thing," Aiko assured, "And it is what Captain Kirk wants, too." She rubbed his side in a slow, circular motion, feeling his heartbeat quicken as she stroked the cool metal and synthetic leather of the paddle across his bruised backside.

"Try not to block your human emotions during this, Spock," she instructed, and he nodded in compliance and waited.

Spock heard the swish of the paddle and tensed as it cracked across his already sore backside. He concentrated hard, and fought the urge to cry out in pain as the paddle harshly struck his abused under-curve.

"Stop suppressing," she ordered, slapping the paddle down repeatedly onto the same strip of his posterior.

He clenched his teeth, writhing involuntarily as the pace and force of the paddle's slaps increased. Aiko sighed, causing his ears to perk.

"So disobedient," she scolded as she cracked the paddle across the backs of his thighs, particularly hard, "You know this will help if you let it, but you continue to block your emotions, against orders."

Panting in pain, Spock felt hot tears sting his closed eyes and allowed himself a quiet whimper before silent tears rolled down his emerald cheeks. He felt sudden waves of fear and shame and looked up, suspecting that Aiko had, or was about to activate his memories. The half-bot however, continued her steady strikes, leaving wide, welted stripes over the previous bruises. Quivering, Spock realized that he was dealing with his emotions about the situation in which had caused everything; his disobedience to Kirk and Pike. Sobbing quietly, he leaned further forward in submission.

"Good," she soothed, though she continued to beat him, slamming the studded paddle into his hips, "Remember why you are being punished, and let the pain run through you."

Spock pulled his arms under him as he curled forward, concentrating on the pain to block out the Vulcan. He hissed as the metal studs slapped again heavy welts, nearly drawing blood. Aiko sighed again and set the paddle aside, not wanting to bleed him again. Spock shifted at the pause, but gasped softly and let out a yelp of surprise as the half-bot slapped her bare hand down across upturned backside, spanking him hard and repeatedly. With a moan of pain, the half-Human panted as he wept into his hands, blushing deeply at his position.

"Now you are accessing your own memories, Spock," Aiko explained quietly, gentleness returning to her voice. Spock nodded weakly as he squirmed and cried out quietly into the mattress; he was surprised how much her hand hurt. Pinning him to her lap, Aiko continued to spank him, mercilessly, making sure that every inch of his posterior was bright green, before she suddenly stopped.

Spock lay still as Aiko leaned down to hold him, but shook his head. "Please don't stop," he rasped, tired from sobbing.

"Darling, I cannot beat you anymore," Aiko sighed, holding him a bit more tightly, "You are bruised and hurt all over." She lightly brushed the back of his thigh, causing him to twitch and suck in his breath quickly.

"I was close," Spock breathed, "to not blocking my emotions. Please."

Aiko bit her lip and looked concerned, but thoughtful. "There is one other thing I could do to you now, though it is a kind of punishment that only someone you are sexually intimate with can inflict."

Spock was quiet for a moment. "Yes?" he finally asked.

"It involves penetration," Aiko explained, blushing deeply as she patted his backside softly for emphasis, causing him to jump slightly.

"I would like to try it," Spock stated after a minute.

Aiko leaned down to hold him carefully for a moment. "Have you done this regularly with Captain Kirk?" she asked.

Spock blinked. "No," he answered quickly, flushing a deep green tint.

"Spock, I understand how you feel for him. I care for you as well. I find this situation completely agreeable," she assured gently.

"The Captain is often with women," Spock admitted quietly, and Aiko's expression saddened.

"I am sorry, Spock," she said, holding him closer.

Spock slowly and shakily wrapped his arms back around her, embracing her gently. She leaned down and kissed him, lightly.

"I will use lubrication as this may be your first time," she offered, and Spock began to shake his head, but she continued, "It will sting possibly even more this way, and is safer." She fished a small bottle out of her supplies, and handed it to Spock. "It primarily contains the oil of an Earth-root called ginger. It will hurt plenty."

"I approve," Spock said, as he shifted himself back over the hump of pillows, wriggling out of his clothes. He turned his head to the side and looked up at her, blushing and looked oddly vulnerable. She smiled and smoothed his shiny hair, leaning down to kiss his head before she retrieved a long, thick strap-on from her supplies. Spock caught glimpse of it and hid his face in his arms as he felt his ears burn. Aiko knelt behind him and pinned him down. She proceeded to punish him with the toy until he could no longer hold himself up.

Panting, Spock lay still in the same position, unable to move from exhaustion. Aiko quickly cleaned her strap-on and her hands, and helped him to roll onto his side, where he curled up against her, shivering. Looking around, she caught the edge of a blanket and pulled it around the naked and chilled half-Vulcan, holding him close to her as he shakily wept into her chest. Any pleasure had subsided, and he suddenly felt weakened and sore.

"You were very good and obedient, Spock," she soothed as she rocked him slowly, rubbing his shoulders through the blanket, "You activated your own memories and released emotion without it having to be pulled from your mind. That is difficult. You should be proud of yourself."

He looked up at her, and momentarily attempted to blink back more tears before clinging to her, overcome with emotion. She embraced him gently, not applying much pressure to his wounded back, and pressed her chin to his head in a protective pose. He hid his face in her chest, crying quietly, his muscles twitching as his breathing slowed. She curled around him and soothingly cupped her hands over his ears, feeling him calm. Her cool hands stroked his burning face, drying his tears, and he pressed into her touch, appreciatively. Aiko brushed her thumbs over Spock's ears as she kissed him tenderly on his full lips. His fingers wove into her striped hair and traced along her back, causing her to let out a quiet, electronic churl, her eyes dilating in sensation. He tiredly reached to pleasure her, but she smiled and caught his hands, pulling them up to kiss each fingertip delicately. He gasped and leaned into her touch.

"You are exhausted, Spock," Aiko observed, "You should rest for now."

She placed him back against the pillows and tucked him under the blanket, and he did not protest. However, he clung to her, pulling her under the blanket with him. Smiling, she clung back and smoothed his hair, her cheek pressed to his. She concentrated, causing her internal fans to spin faster as she purposely produced more heat to warm her lover, who occasionally twitched and squirmed in her arms, his insides still burning. He closed his dark eyes quickly to avoid more tears, but the bot had been programmed to detect subtle emotions and cupped his face carefully in her hands, stroking his sensitive skin. She was determined to give him comfort, but knew that he needed more than the physical. Thinking for a moment, Aiko mulled over bits of information about Spock that were gathered during the time in which she activated his memories, and had an idea. She searched her library files and opened the data for Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland". Her eyes glowing as she entered information mode, Aiko started to read the file aloud,

"Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, `and what is the use of a book,' thought Alice `without pictures or conversation?'"

Spock blinked and glanced up at Aiko, who smiled down at him, slightly eerie with her eyes in mode. He realized then, that she must have witnessed more scenes from his childhood than he had realized, including earlier ones of his mother reading the works of Lewis Carroll to him as a child. He felt himself blush, and snuggled against her, appreciatively. He concentrated only on the words and imagery of the story, and felt his thoughts finally relax. It was rare that he felt openly vulnerable, or perhaps this was the first time. Either way, he did not want it to end quite yet. Aiko cradled Spock's face against her chest, keeping one hand along his jaw line and the other tenderly circulating his shoulders. She continued to read until Spock could no longer keep his eyes open. Aiko smiled down at him endearingly as she exited the file, returning to normal mode. He stirred, and sleepily muttered a phrase of gratitude.

"You are quite welcome, Spock," Aiko responded as she tucked the covers around him, "I had not read it before."

"What did you think?" Spock asked, surprised that any Earthling was not familiar with Alice in Wonderland.

"It is a good story," she answered thoughtfully, "Some of the characters are extremely silly, but I like Alice. She is a lost girl in a world that is often nonsensical, but she keeps her wits about her despite it all."

"Indeed she does," Spock echoed, and gently nudged Aiko.

"Oh, you," she stammered after a quick pause, "You will make me blush again."

"Wouldn't want that," he smiled back, looking particularly human as he dozed.

"Certainly not," Aiko agreed, straightening as she wrapped her arms protectively around her lover.

"Goodnight, Aiko," Spock mumbled, drifting into sleep, "See you in Wonderland."

"Hm?" she questioned, but no reply came except for a quiet snore, and Aiko chuckled, processing his statement. "Maybe so, my love," she said softly as she pulled him close, allowing her own eyelids to drop, "See you there…"

Author's note: I am now writing the next chapter, and so far, it is turning out to be a bunch of mush. So, for anyone who was a little horrified by the roughness of this chapter, the next one is for you.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note: Hey, all. I apologize for the extremely long delay in updates. It has been a really crazy year. Thank you, everyone who has read and supported this fanfic and my writing; you all are the reason I picked this up again. I have decided that instead of writing a sequel, I will simply continue this story, as it will work better that way, plot-wise. This chapter is very much bdsm/emotional baggage-filled, but the next few chapters will have more happening in the plot. Remember, this is just the watered-down, edited version to fit to 's policies. If you want to see the real, unedited story, you will find the link to it on my profile. Anyway, hope you all enjoy, and thanks again!

Spock awoke and sat up suddenly, his mind swimming in a strange dream; something about card people and dormice and lost girls chasing rabbits. He winced in pain and moved to lie back down, guided by Aiko, who was there next to him. She looked him over with concern, before draping herself around him to soothe him. Spock calmed and reached to hold her hands as she cupped his face. His cuts had healed, but he was still sore and bruised all over.

"Good morning," the bot greeted, "Today is your day of healing." She kissed his hands, tenderly, where the bases of his fingers joined together, pressing her soft lips into the crevices.

Spock attempted to response verbally but gasped from the sudden waves of pleasure coming from his hands. He blushed, watching Aiko as she trailed loving kisses down his fingers and along his palms. When she reached his wrists, she nestled her face into his hands and paused, closing her eyes. Her brow furrowed and her expression flickered to something of pain; grief, Spock thought.

"What troubles you, Aiko?" Spock asked, running his fingers through her hair, neatly separating the pink and black stripes.

Aiko shook her head and smiled in reply. "Nothing," she answered, though her glossy eyes concerned Spock as she sat up and knelt. "You are beautiful, Spock," she sighed happily, tracing her fingertips down his nude chest and stomach, stopping short of his waistline.

Gazing up at her, Spock noted that she, too was still unclothed from the night before, but had pulled part of the sheet up to her throat. She had stopped just short of his waistline.

"Shy," he thought, and gave her a gentle smile before tugging lightly at the sheet. She let it go easily, but glanced away as it fell.

"You are also beautiful," Spock stated, stroking his palms down the trails of bright blue lights on her sides.

She moaned softly as her skin prickled with goose bumps and stimulation; Spock's hands trailed over every sensitive part of her body. He sat up carefully and placed his arm around her, cradling her back to prevent her from falling off of the bed. His sensitive fingertips stroked her chest, throat, and face, causing her to writhe against him, caught in a cloud of ecstasy. When his hands moved back to her face, she caught them, smiling up at him as she kissed and lightly sucked between his fingers. He drew in his breath sharply and pulled her down on top of him as he arched back against the bed.

Aiko gasped in excitement as she collapsed against her lover, then shifted and noticed his erection for the first time. She smiled down at him, flushing purple, and straddled his waist. He reached to hold her hands, noticing that she seemed tentative. Spock arched upwards against her in pleasure, and Aiko moaned, her face turned to the ceiling.

A Human smile flickered across Spock's face and he caught her hips. Her fingers caressed his face and ears before wrapping around his chest and back and she clung to him, panting into his chest. Pressed together, they gasped for breath; Aiko on her back, hanging partially off the side of the bed. Her fully dilated eyes blinked and she stared across the room, seeing everything in upside-down vision. Her view suddenly changed to her lover's beautiful features as he swept her up against his chest. She clung to him weakly, and a joy-dazed churl sounded from her.

Spock held Aiko silently, chin rested on her head as he contemplated what he felt for her. Logically, she was caring, but she was programmed to be. However, Spock's human side had connected with hers, and they intimately knew one another. He suddenly wished that she did not have to depart the next morning, and he tightened his embrace around her.

Aiko smiled at his gesture and leaned up to him, shyly grazing his soft lips with hers before kissing him fully. Her brow creased with emotion and her lips and tongue quivered into the kiss as she felt Spock return passionately, his graceful hands caught up in her glassy hair. A tingling sensation flooded her eyes without warning, and Aiko snapped her lids shut quickly, but not quickly enough; bot reflexes were not made for catching tears as bots did not weep.

Sensing sudden moisture on his hand's sensitive skin, Spock pulled back to look as her, his expression subtly tinted with concern.

"Have I harmed you?" he asked as he carefully checked her over for injury.

"Not at all," she answered, obviously working to keep her voice from shaking. She rested her hands on his forearms assuredly and smiled quickly though she kept her eyes closed. Tears seeped out from under her lips, and she mentally cursed ComfortBot technology for not yet making them waterproof as she hung her head to quickly dry her eyes.

"Are you certain that I have not harmed you?" Spock's voice came again, and his gentle hands reached to comfort her, stroking over her damp face and hair.

She smiled quickly again, then opened her eyes as she regained composure. "Spock," she said quietly, "You are wonderful, with objectively very few flaws. I feel fortunate that you are interested in me. I…" she paused, and glanced up at him, noticing that her words had caused him to flush a bright green, "I am afraid to fall in love again," she quietly admitted.

"You have been hurt," Spock stated after a pause.

"Yes," she responded, keeping her eyes away.

"Were you mistreated?" he asked, and she felt his muscles tense.

"No, nothing like that," she answered quickly, and felt him relax once more. She glanced around the room, and, noticing nothing out of place to distract the conversation with, sighed, and continued, "I was assigned to a human who had been sexually assaulted in the past. My mission was to talk to and help this person to cope. I ended up demonstrating, instead, how pleasurable gentle intimacy can be. She was my first experience. I did not mean to fall…" She trailed; her eyes were far away.

Statuesque as always, Spock sat quietly, waiting for her to continue. A long paused droned out before he asked, "What went wrong?"

Tongue-tied, Aiko quickly collected her thoughts, her eyes fixed on a spot on the smooth floor. "She never knew that I was sentient," she finally responded, "I did not know how to tell her of my feelings, and in my shyness, I neglected to tell her of my very existence. When she became comfortable with intimacy, she found a lover and no longer required my services," She closed her eyes, and felt Spock's warm hands cup over hers. She smiled up at him quickly, her eyes still shut.

"This was fifty-eight years ago," she assured, "Ancient history, as humans like to say." She gasped softly as the warm sensation left her hands and traveled to her face as Spock cupped her jaw. His thumbs pressed lightly over her closed eyes, and Aiko tried to pull away as tears were forced out from her lids, which she had deliberately kept shut for that reason. However, the half-Vulcan did not loosen his grip, and gently, wordlessly dried her eyes. Aiko smiled her quick, awkward smile again and opened her eyes. "Thank you," she said quietly, her face burning as she glanced into Spock's eyes, then away. "I have not pursued another until now," Aiko added, "I had not considered ever attempting pursuing another again, until now.

She suddenly reached to cradle his face as well, and locked eyes with him. "I will not make the same mistake this time," she vowed, before tenderly kissing her lover's softly curving lips, and let out an electronic squeak of surprise as he met her kiss passionately and moved his hands to around her waist to lift her without warning. Legs instinctively wrapped around his waist for security, Aiko attempted to question their navigational course but became distracted as Spock continued to hold her mouth to his with kisses that took the breath from her.

"You are the first to ever lift me up like this," Aiko chuckled when the kiss broke, and rolled her head back to see the shower stall's tiled ceiling, "I was surprised that you can, so easily…" She felt her face flush deeply. Though a light-weight model, Aiko was still heavier than one may think on first glance, being biomechanical.

"It would seem," Spock commented as he knelt on the floor with her under the warm running water, holding her to him securely, "that I am your first for several things."

"Yes…" she admitted quietly, ducking her head against his chest. There was a short pause before she added, "I am glad." She smiled up at him, and made an effort to keep her eyes open as tears rolled down her unnaturally smooth cheeks, and splashed onto his strong chest.

"I…I did not know that I could feel this," she mumbled.

"Now you understand how I feel," Spock answered with a rather human, pulling her close to him.

"Mmm, I think it's my turn, darling," Aiko purred. With a sudden grin, she pounced forward, knocking Spock back against the floor, and caught his head securely with her precise hands. Eyes wide, Spock stared up at her, causing her to giggle as she trailed her fingertips over his sensitive ears, causing him to gasp and writhe under her. Spock closed his eyes and allowed his sensations to take over, feeling that it was safe to do so, and clung to Aiko as she leaned down, her breath tickling his ear before she kissed it lovingly, sucking lightly on the tip. He whimpered as her teeth grazed his ears, and then his throat, before all were covered in delicate kisses, their limbs tangled together as the warm water beat down on them.

"I…I did not even notice that we were in the water," Aiko realized aloud after a moment, causing a slow chuckle to escape the half-Vulcan. Glancing up at him, Aiko also allowed herself a giggle, and squeezed him slightly. She then paused, and added, "Thank you."

"What have I done?" Spock asked, raising a damp eyebrow as he sat up sorely, and turned to his side.

"You were gentle with me, though you did not know you were my first," Aiko responded quietly, her cheeks glowing purple as she attempted to make eye contact with her knees, "You are as much a gentleman as you are a tall, dark, and handsome."

At her words, Spock also burned with blush. "Thank you for being gentle with me, as I am also experiencing the previously unknown," he answered after a short pause.

Frowning, Aiko reached to touch a lumpy bruise on the back of Spock's thigh. "I have not been gentle with you," she seemed to confess with her black, mirror-like eyes.

With a subtle Vulcan smile, Spock caught her hand and held it tenderly. "You have been gentler with my mind than any before," he told her sincerely, "I believe, fully, that you inflict as little pain in the process as necessary, both mentally and physically."

"Yes," Aiko answered, letting out a soft sigh of relief as she pulled Spock's hand to her lips, gently kissing the light whip marks along his palm, "I do not receive enjoyment from inflicting pain. However, I do not mind punishing you, because I know that it helps you to release." She smiled a real, comfortable smile before adding, "You make me release, as well." With that, she clicked into full cleaning mode, growing stiff all over, eyes glazed over with electronic glow as soap bubbles seeped from her pores.

Spock blinked, and watched curiously, and was momentarily envious that he did not have any "modes" to switch into that would abruptly end such emotional discussions. Slowly, with great care, he untangled his legs from hers and lifted her up, placing her in the corner of the shower, out of harm's way, and began to bathe himself, allowing a satisfied human smile cross his face briefly as he stretched under the steamy water.

The bathroom door slid open and shut rapidly as Aiko emerged from the restroom and immediately made the bed. She then proceeded to shift random objects around the room back into place, as many had been knocked over or off-center in their recent sexual conquests of one another. The bathroom door slide open and shut noisily, and Aiko paused as she realized then and only then had she been doing this without clothing.

"Eheh, sorry," she said quickly as she turned to look through her backpack.

"I do not believe that I have complained," Spock responded with an edge of amusement in his voice as he opened a drawer. He sifted through it, and deciding that he was rather sore, pushed past his uniforms and pulled out a long, Vulcan, robe, which slid on easily.

Noting his choice, Aiko pulled out a white sundress from inside her pack, and slipped it on, tying the straps behind her.

"I have not worn clothing before that exposes my skin in the presence of another," Aiko commented, and Spock watched her as she turned around and knelt on his bed as she sorted through her pack. "My skin is so sensitive that I fear that I will accidentally be brought to orgasm if an unsuspecting being brushes past me," she added with a mildly frustrated sigh, then smirked, "However, I feel that I am safe, here." She dug through her bag and pulled out several small bottles which she set aside as she sat at the side of the bed. Spock's vision followed the exposed blue lights which blinked in a pattern up and down her back, along her spine.

"Spock, come lie across my lap," she suddenly requested, patting her thigh lightly.

Spock hesitated a moment, but the bot waited patiently. Feeling his skin burn, he carefully positioned himself face-down across her lap. His muscles tensed and he concentrated to keep his heart rate steady.

Sensing his discomfort, Aiko leaned down to embrace him and kiss the back of his head. As she did, a wave of fear from him ran through her like an electrical current, and an image flashed in her database; young Spock shook and was curled into a ball. Aiko blinked and her brow creased with human concern.

"Darling, I am not going to harm you," she assured as she pushed his robe up to his shoulders.

The top of a bottle popped off, and a moment later, Spock felt a soothing, warm cream cover the welts on his back as Aiko gently massaged the tight muscles underneath. Immediately, he began to get up.

"Aiko, I do not want my wounds treated," Spock reminded, "They are there for a reason." He gasped when her hand pressed slowly down on his back; her surprising strength forced him to collapse back onto her lap.

"You need this, Spock," Aiko explained as she continued to apply the cream to his back, "I do not want you to be too sore to return to work."

"I will return to work," Spock guaranteed before protesting, "Please do not treat my wounds." He tried to get up once more, but Aiko pinned him though he stubbornly struggled under her.

"Hold still," she urged, giving his bruised backside a gentle swat, and was mildly astonished when this caused the half-Vulcan to struggle even harder. "What has gotten into you?" she asked and reached to touch his head for a clue, but he pulled away quickly.

"I dislike this position," Spock muttered quietly, "It is humiliating."

She sighed, and pulled his robe back down over his exposed skin to keep his modesty. "I was sent here to punish you for disobeying orders. It would seem that you cannot even follow mine, though you agreed to do so. You are also clearly hiding something that is disturbing you, which you agreed not to do."

Spock slowly went still at the sound of her words. "You are correct," he said quietly, "I deserve retribution for my disobedience."

Aiko sighed again. "I suppose that you do," she contended, "Although this was to be your day of comfort."

"This will comfort me," Spock promised.

She sighed yet again. "I know."

Without warning, Aiko lifted Spock's robe to his waist and clapped her hand down across his sore backside, causing him to jerk slightly and attempt to get up, but she pinned him firmly.

"Please," he nearly begged, "let me lie flat. Tie me down if you wish, or bend me over the desk."

"Your dislike of this position will add to the punishment," she explained in reply as her hand fell again and left a pained splotch on the back of Spock's thigh.

Sighing, Spock stopped struggling though his muscles tightened and flinched as Aiko's hand peppered his bruised posterior with bright green handprints. He stretched his arms out in front of him and balled his hands into the bedspread, shoulders shaking as he took the blows silently.

"It must be something deeply upsetting if you are guarding whatever it is so strongly," Aiko commented as she quickened her pace, and rained the slaps down harder across Spock's upturned backside.

Face and ears flushed deep green; Spock squirmed in discomfort, no longer able to keep himself fully still. It was only her hand, but it hurt so badly over the damage that was already there. Still, he felt that he should be able to take it; he was a Vulcan. Tears of shame and pain sprang to his eyes and he pressed his face into the mattress. He felt Aiko's free hand travel to cradle the back of his head and he felt his body go limp as he finally allowed her to meld minds with him.

The spanking came to a halt as their minds linked, and the last things that Spock felt before entering his memories was Aiko's arm wrap securely around his waist.

Spock was a child, around the same age that Aiko had seen the other Vulcan children bully him. He sat on his bed, his back to the wall and clung his knees to his chest as he shook; he tried to block a pained expression. Across the room, his parents argued; something that Aiko had not seen often in his memories.

"I will not allow you to brutalize our child, Amanda," Sarek said sternly, "Vulcans do not do that."

"He is half human, Sarek," Amanda countered, "You want to punish him for a human outburst, and he needs a human punishment. Your lectures don't work."

"Do you not see the emotional reaction that your method of discipline has created in him?" Sarek objected, pointing in the direction of Spock, "You cannot punish a child for hitting another student who hit him, by then hitting him. That is confusing, humiliating, and most illogical."

"You and your logic," Amanda sighed, "He is upset after you scold him, too. You have no idea."

"Spock has never shaken in terror when I lectured him," Sarek spat, pointing in his direction again, "And I have never wounded his pride nor treated him without dignity."

Amanda looked over at the slender child on the bed, shaking, his eyes forced away from his parents; the bruise from another boy's strike on his face. She looked back at Sarek, who glared firmly, and it hit her; she had frightened her son, of whom she loved dearly. She had meant to save him from emotional damage inflicted by Sarek's cold lectures, not cause more damages, herself. Emerald eyes brimming with tears, Amanda quickly exited the room. Sarek watched and glanced from his son to his wife, leaving down the hall.

"I am sorry, Spock," Sarek addressed formally, causing the boy to look up as a gesture of respect, though he visibly struggled to hold back tears. Instead of his normal chiding reaction to this, Sarek pretended not to notice due to the circumstance and continued, "I will handle discipline from now on. This will not be done to you again. You have my word."

Unable to speak without his voice shaking, Spock simply bowed his head in gratitude, and hid his face back in his knees. Unsure of how to comfort Spock, and very sure that his son needed a moment alone; Sarek left and quietly shut the door behind him. Spock waited for a few minutes after he heard the door close, to ensure that no one lingered outside, before, wincing, he rolled onto his side. His little face pressed tightly to his pillow to muffle all sound, he finally allowed himself to sob, and curled up fully under his covers to hide. Unable to get comfortable, he tossed and turned until he had cried himself to sleep.

Aiko's vision faded into the current time, and immediately warped with tears as she embraced her lover tightly from behind.

"My poor darling," she sniffled into the back of his neck, "I am so sorry. Children cannot consent."

Shakily, Spock wrapped his arms around hers in front and held her hands to his damp face, calming in her embrace. "Her intent was kind. She never struck me before or after that one incident, just as Sarek promised."

"Thank goodness he at least had the sense to do that much," she sighed with an edge of frustration towards Sarek. She tightened her embrace around Spock, protectively. "I am sorry, darling. I will never force this position again. If I had known that your mother-"

"I would prefer that you did," Spock interrupted.

"But you indicated that you hated it," Aiko recalled, "And I cannot blame you, now."

"I do," Spock continued, "And, as you said, it adds to the punishment and does get an emotional response from me; one that I should confront." He heard a quiet, grumbling warble of computerized sounds from Aiko; she knew that he was right, but did not like it. She squeezed him tightly for a moment and planted a soft kiss on the back of both his ears before sitting up.

"Are you sure, darling?" she asked, concern evident in her voice.

"Affirmative," he answered, "What you were doing earlier; scolding me; it…penetrates."

Aiko nodded, and then realized that he could not see her in his current position. "This computes," she added, "I understand why it would. We will continue your punishment, but you _will_ allow me to comfort and attend to you after this."

"Yes ma'am," Spock quietly replied, and folded his arms under his chest, to brace himself.

"Good," Aiko affirmed, and then sighed as she landed a sudden slap to the center of Spock's backside, causing him to flinch in surprise and tense. "If only you could have been so obedient earlier; then I would not have to punish you at all," she lamented, and began a steady rhythm of sharp swats to Spock's posterior, paying particular attention to welts and bruises.

Teeth clenched, Spock pressed his head against the mattress and stifled a whimper, his body tight with tension to block the pain that slammed through him. Tears flooded his eyes, but he squeezed his lids shut tightly, unable to let them escape as he battled with Vulcan codes and Human pride. Suddenly, Aiko's knee became wedged between his, forcing his thighs apart, and she planted a particularly hard slap over his sore opening.

"You are not allowed to block your punishment, Spock," she chided, continuing the hard swats to the center of his backside, forcing quiet moans of pain from her lover. "You are receiving this punishment because of your general disobedience. Anymore misbehavior and I will use my whip," she added.

Squirming across her lap, Spock panted as he gripped the bedspread tightly as he choked back a pained sob; it hurt so much. Aiko's free arm pressed down firmly on his back, holding him in place as she continued to spank him, keeping her hard rhythm, despite of his struggle.

"That's it, let this pain run through you, darling," she encouraged, "Let the pain of that memory run through you as well. You are safe to finally do so. I will be here to comfort you when we are finished."

Knuckles white, Spock finally released his grip on the covers and began to sob hard, forsaking pride. He writhed in pain, but stilled a bit when Aiko rested her hand on the back of his head, taking comfort in her touch for a moment before she activated his memories, cringing for him as he began to uncharacteristically flinch and whimper with each slap, and quivered against her. Feeling helpless, Spock buried his face in his hands as he wept.

"I am sorry," he choked, somewhere between memory and reality.

"I know, darling," Aiko answered, her tone softer, though she continued to beat him, focusing on his sensitive under curve, "And you are forgiven. Captain Kirk is not angry with you, either. I am going to help you to cry yourself out completely, so that you will feel more emotionally secure."

"Thank you, Aiko," he muffled into his hands as he winced and hissed in pain. He crossed his ankles, and yelped in sudden, less familiar pain as Aiko harshly spanked the backs of his calves without pause and fought her instinct to stop and comfort him. He cried out, and quickly straightened his ankles, which returned the blows to his backside. Panting, he spread his arms out to steady himself as the force of each slap rocked him forward slightly, causing him to muffle pained cries into his arm. Shaking hard, he hung his shoulders in shame as he wept; his Vulcan side as much as his Human side.

"My poor, bad boy," Aiko scolded gently, and stroked the back of his head, wrapping her arm around him, firmly, to hold him as she pinned him down, "You know that you deserve this, though. You were purposely disobedient and wanted me to do this."

She shifted her knee, and positioned Spock further forward. He closed his eyes as more tears flooded his vision at Aiko's words, and he gasped at the sudden movement, but did not try to fight her. She raised her hand high and spanked him harder in his more vulnerable position, leaving a dark green handprint with each strike. Spock muffled a long moan of pain and wept openly as fear and shame ripped through his mind. Several more stinging slaps rained down on the middle of his backside, before he suddenly curled up around Aiko's waist and sobbed hard into her side.

Spock half expected to be pinned back into position and punished more, but felt Aiko's arms wrap around him securely and pull him to her chest and cradle him on his side to take the pressure off of his burning posterior. He clung tightly to her, overcome by emotion. Aiko frowned, and leaned over Spock, who found himself completely caught up in her embrace, her hair draped over him.

"You did very well, Spock," she praised, and kissed his head.

"I did not stay in position," Spock answered with great effort to keep his voice even as tears continued to run down his cheeks.

"I do not think that _anyone_ could have stayed in position longer," Aiko responded as she tightened her embrace, "You are so hard on yourself. Will you let me comfort you, now?"

Spock tried to respond, but could not muster the concentration to steady his voice again and nodded weakly. He felt one arm wrap around his back to embrace him while the other fumbled for medical cream and very gently rubbed a generous amount into his abused backside. He sniffled quietly into her side and used all of the concentration that he had left not to squirm. Aiko's stroking massage traveled down one leg, and then the other. Soon, she had covered every inch of damaged skin on her lover in a thick coat of cream.

"That should help you to heal some by tomorrow," she explained. She then leaned back and carefully moved Spock with her, so that she could hug him tightly to her chest and stroke his hair.

Spock nearly smiled through his tears as his face pressed into Aiko's chest; this was a position that he enjoyed more. He looped his arms around her as she cuddled him close and stroked his hair smooth. Nestled against her, he felt calmer, though he still burned with blush.

"If I had any memories of my first life's childhood, I would share something personal from it with you," Aiko consoled, and frowned, "I am sorry that you have suffered so much."

Her hands tenderly circulated his shoulders, and Spock quivered as emotions rushed through him, seemingly forced out by the action. He choked and hid his face in her chest, and his shoulders shook under her hands. He seemed hesitant, and Aiko remembered; Vulcans were only allowed to display tears in severe pain, which had since been numbed by the medical cream. She gently tilted up his face, and looked seriously into his shining eyes. Her initial intent had been to speak sternly to him, as it usually seemed to work, but her look softened at the sight of his sad, sweet eyes, and she nearly lost her own composure.

"Spock, Humans are allowed to display tears in times of severe emotional pain, as well," she stated, "You are allowed, darling. There is no shame in this. No Human would think less of you, and any Vulcan that would will receive a long, drawn-out, and purposefully boring explanation from me on why it is necessary for your health." Her embrace tightened protectively around the other hybrid as he rocked with pent-up emotional agony. "This applies particularly to Ambassador Sarek, if our paths cross again," she added with a Human-like huff of frustration before she wrapped her legs around Spock's, and held him in a full-body embrace.

His body tensed tightly for a few seconds before he melted into her embrace as he allowed his human side to release fully as he clung to her. Face pressed into her shoulder and water-resistant hair, he sobbed quietly. He tightened his embrace, though his thoughts whirled at warp speed. Faces of his mother, his father, and his teachers played through his head; all of them disapproved. He was either too human or not human enough. Cheek pressed tightly to his, Spock felt Aiko trail soft kisses along his ear and neck. He let out a long, shuddering breath as he calmed into her touch. She approved of him. He pulled back from her suddenly and studied her concerned expression. His eyes traveled to her black painted lips; a curious color for a human, but she was not a full human, either. She carefully dried his tears with her thumbs and he leaned in to kiss her. Tenderly, she returned the kiss and cupped his jaw in her hands.

"Aiko, are you there?" Ted Tudd's voice suddenly erupted from a clip on Aiko's ear, causing them both to jump as the kiss broke. She took a quick, breath-like movement and almost chuckled before she pressed the clip.

"Hello Ted," she answered, sitting up as much as she could as she continued to hold her lover.

"Ah, there you are," the other man answered, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Spock's eyes met Aiko's and in his vulnerable state, his expression nearly seemed pleading.

"Not at all," she responded in a normal tone, though Spock noticed that she blinked rapidly several times during that statement. A slight smile crept up his face; she was a bad liar, but she had tried for him anyway.

"Well," Ted's voice continued with a nearly worried tone, "I hope that you and your current…client are getting along all right."

"We are," Aiko answered after a pause at which she very briefly held a look of confusion, "Why do you ask?" Her voice was calm and steady but Spock could feel her body tense under him.

"Well, I've been thinking…" he trailed.

"Yes?" she asked, and blinked hard; Ted was a good friend, but she occasionally felt the urge to shake him and scream at him to cut to the point, though she would not act on it.

"Well, I've been talking to that Captain Kirk fella, and it turns out that the next place that their ship is headed is near our next stop, too. Practically planetary neighbors, you know," Ted explained, "Their ship is going to pick up resources, and ours has appointments…though not you, you're on break, you crazy woman. After that whole year on duty, the others are beginning to wonder what became of you."

Aiko tensed and blinked quickly. "They are?" she asked quietly, and then seemed to mentally curse herself. Spock observed and gave her a gentle squeeze before he rested his head back on her chest.

"Yes, nearly all of them have asked about you at least once since you were last here," Ted confirmed, "Anyhow, we seem to be in need of Mr. Spock's services, here. And, Kirk and I figured that since Mr. Spock spent his vacation with you, perhaps you would like to spend part of yours with him, at least until we get to the fork in the sky where we go to different planets. Or, would you prefer to be alone?"

Aiko's expression broke into a smile, and Spock nearly did the same. "No, I would be most appreciative of his company," she answered quickly, "And…thank you, Ted."

"What can I say?" the man's voice chuckled, "I'm a sucker for sappy romances. Besides, we have a programming quirk that your Mr. Spock may be able to help us with, and Captain Kirk has requested that he take notes on the functioning of comfort bots." A sound came over the communicator which was evident of Ted's attempts to suppress a laugh, "The physical functioning of comfort bots! That guy's a real hoot!" he exploded in giggles, before quickly adding, "Well, bye, you two love birds! See you both tomorrow!"

Aiko's face fell and what remained of the color in her face drained. She then sported an indignant look and reached to click the communicator with an answer, but heard the telltale beep; Ted had signed off. Flustered, she huffed loudly, and dropped back against the mattress.

"Aiko," Spock remarked, "I believe we have been set up."

"I concur," she chuckled, as she pressed her cheek against the top of his head, lovingly. She held him close and smiled contently. "I think I would have leapt straight off of this sleeping surface if you had not been on top of me when Ted initialed the conversation," she candidly mused after a moment. Her fingertips traced his ear and straightened his hair. "And I am glad," she confessed, "I did not want to leave you tomorrow. I want to hold you forever right now."

"It is an agreeable turn of events," Spock responded as he reached to hold her slightly purpled and swollen hand. He inspected it for a moment before he lightly kissed her fingertips and pressed his cheekbone to her palm.

"And now, I can properly monitor your wounds," Aiko murmured as she softly kissed the top of his head.

"I will make a full recovery very soon," Spock assured, though he did not fight her gesture of affection.

"I meant these," she stroked the back of his head.

He did not respond, but nuzzled against her as she covered his brow, nose, and face in soft kisses. Their fingertips met, and Aiko's hands cupped over his, despite their smaller size. They stayed that way mostly in silence, though it was a content silence.


End file.
